The Hero of Arendelle City
by Catterall
Summary: When Elsa Noble returns as the CEO of the Noble Corporation after years abroad, she discovers justice in her city has fallen in favour of corruption. As she tries to rebuild her relationship with her sister and return the city to it's former wealth, she soon finds herself rising as an unlikely hero with a gift she never wanted. Superhero AU.
1. Prologue

**Frozen did always seem it could easily have turned into a superhero film, so here's my first go at writing with the idea. The first few chapters will be exposition mostly, but I hope they will be enjoyable nonetheless. Here goes. **

**DISCLAIMER: The story of Frozen and all its characters belong to Disney. I just played with the setting and the plot a bit. **

* * *

Elsa Noble had never been able to experience the average childhood. This was not because of her family wealth, nor was it due to the vast expanse of her intellect. Indeed, if she were to ever point to any one factor in her life and say 'This is the sole reason why I am not remotely like anyone else'; it would, perhaps fittingly, be her curiously developed ability of cryokinesis.

Of course, one should never overlook the other conditions which set her apart from the herd. Elsa, the eldest child of Adgar and Idunn Noble, was born into a family possessing all the wealth she would ever need to support herself, a mansion set into a hundred acres of land with a full complement of household staff and all imaginable personal costs she could ever encounter. It had not gone unnoticed by her that she resided within these non-existent economic constraints at even the earliest age, although she had a complex relationship with this fact to say the least. On the one hand she did not enjoy the apparently negative portrayal this granted her from the few of her own age she had encountered, who were reserved to life in the lower tax brackets of the local area. If she could give up all the riches her family had gathered just to be accepted by the repulsed contemporaries, she sometimes thought she would. But on the other hand the money her parents had earned provided her with a sense of security, along with the amenities to expand her potential.

Indeed, her inherent wealth had given Elsa the opportunity to access the finest tutors in the country. This, coupled with her natural aptitude towards study, sparked the raging fire of her education as she thoroughly familiarized herself with some of the finer details of her parents' business by the age of fifteen. If her academic history were to tracked, the observer would find that Elsa had grasped the practical aspects of mathematics (notably in statistics and geometry) by the time she was five-years-old. Her reading was of a standard that she was capable of both understanding and enjoying the works of Dickens, Wilde and Rousseau by age ten. The idea of progressive medicine in the form of genetic engineering, a practice her mother employed in some of her deeper research, had crossed her mind by the time she was thirteen. Away from academia, it was worth noting Elsa was well-practiced in a number of martial arts by her mid-teens. In all, when it came to Elsa applying to Universities she had the capabilities to attend each and every institution she introduced herself to, even to the point her chosen university offered her a bursary she would never need.

Although behind these accomplishments was a very peculiar circumstance, and one which would require visual evidence to be believed. The reason why Elsa was able to put all her efforts into her studies and why she would seek sanctuary away from the spiteful eyes of others was all down to an accident which had occurred before her birth.

Adgar Noble had been the CEO of the strongly established Noble Corporation from his mid-twenties, a position he had received from his own father. The company was based purely around the core idea of 'improving the human life through practical development'. As such, while the Noble Corp. invested in many peripheral projects a huge emphasis was placed on its pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. It was of no coincidence in that respect that Adgar met the future Idunn Noble as the head of the research program. What was coincidental was the fact that shortly after their marriage, Idunn experienced an accident in the research of viruses capable of rapidly cooling the surrounding environment. It was thankful that Idunn recovered swiftly with no ill effects, as the virus was too weak to cause any vast changes to her cells. However, the unknown zygote within Idunn was to be forever changed by the few new strands of DNA the virus introduced.

Following this occurrence, Idunn's pregnancy was discovered and Elsa was born without incident. It was a matter of some concern that the child was oddly cooler to the touch than one should expect, although it wasn't until a few years later that the strange abilities manifested themselves in the girl. As her hair began to grow out, it was found that Elsa did not share the brunette locks of her mother nor the redhead of her father but was instead the purest platinum blonde a person could be. Similarly her eyes were an unusual ice blue that neither parent possessed, although these were not overly worrying as Elsa had been as healthy and happy as her parents had hoped.

It was when concern for the anomalies in Elsa's appearance was at its lowest that the true extent of her ability revealed itself. When she was merely two-years-old she fell out of bed in the middle of the night; fracturing her collarbone and bizarrely causing a blizzard on the grounds of the Noble Estate with her cries. A month later, a slightly older boy, who was the child of a family friend, made the unwise choice to push Elsa down one too many times. How a small icicle fell from her bedroom ceiling in the middle of August, lodging itself in the boy's cheek and requiring five stitches was uncomfortably inexplicable for Adgar, who by that time was aware of the power little Elsa appeared to hold.

Therefore, when it came to light that Idunn was pregnant with a second child the Noble parents were presented with challenging idea of having two children capable of freezing anything they didn't like, should the virus have a prolonged effect. One seemingly super powered toddler was manageable, even easy to hide within the mansion. The thought of two was dangerous.

Thankfully, Anna Noble was born with no such abilities. Her hair grew to be red (though with a single white streak), like her father's and her eyes were green like her mother. It was also this younger sibling which lead Elsa to practice some control over her powers. By now, she had realised she could do things others could not and was naturally scared herself that she may hurt Anna by accident. Thus it was that the child formed a close bond with her sister through her efforts to balance the fun and safety. In fact, with Anna's mesmerised audience Elsa soon learnt to produce snowy clouds at will and freeze the lake outside the mansion in a matter of minutes by the time she had reached the age of five.

When Anna was able to walk and run just as well as Elsa could, the two would spend hours every day playing in the artificially created Lapland to the mild amusement of their parents. For a time there was some semblance of normalcy in the Noble Estate. The few occasions when they would be entertaining the girls were kept to another wing of the house, otherwise Elsa was free to create a winter wonderland all through the year with the enthusiastic encouragement of Anna.

Then, unfortunately, another accident befell the family. One night, when Anna had coaxed Elsa out of bed to continue their daytime play the energetic five-year-old proved too much for the elder sister to follow. While climbing ever-growing mountains of snow and frost, Anna had leapt off the soft cliff face without any landing ready for her descent. Elsa, in panic, began forming a wintery bed to catch her, but had slipped and instead sent the freezing force straight into Anna's forehead. The younger girl had been rendered unconscious immediately, developing a deathly chill to her skin before Elsa had even screamed for their mother and father.

Fear-stricken at the thought of losing a daughter, Adgar had seen it necessary to immediately call in another leading expert in the research wing of the Noble Corporation; an effective old man who was affectionately known as Pabbie by his colleagues. After rapidly explaining the situation to him, revealing Elsa's powers in the process, Pabbie began working to revive Anna before an hour had passed from the incident.

It took three days to rectify the injury, during which the correct medical authorities had been alerted with the pretence of Anna falling into the cold lake and whacking her head in the dive. For seventy-two hours, Elsa was gripped with the unshakeable, oppressive guilt of having mortally injured her closest companion. She could barely sleep with the knowledge that her little sister could die due to her carelessness and on no less than four occasions her meals resurfaced at the very thought. What little she could manage to eat made her feel sick to her core and only provided further physical torment atop the emotional pain.

Anna finally woke up a complete five days after she had been struck, suffering no impairments other than selective retrograde amnesia. She could answer personal information such as her name, age, family members and a rough daily routine, but she held nearly no recollection of Elsa's powers or the fact that she had often built snowmen at inappropriate times of the year. After several check-ups Anna was released from hospital and had fully recovered within the month.

Elsa, in comparison, was wracked with inner turmoil. There was no peace to be found whilst she could still call ice into existence on a whim. Worse; after this incident she lost control of her powers, escalating to the point she found it common to awaken, sweat drenched in the middle of the night, surrounded by frozen stalagmites. The persistent nag of doubt in her mind grew, as she became distant from her family for their protection. Days would pass when she wouldn't even step outside her bedroom door, working herself tirelessly to regain some semblance of composure.

Her father noticed this pattern of behaviour early on. He indulged her need for isolation where he found it reasonable, but had made it clear to Elsa that they were going to find a way to manage her growing powers. Pabbie was employed as a personal tutor for Elsa, in the hopes that biological control could be established with enough study. The stout old man tried his hardest to discern any biochemical triggers which could be manipulated, however the eight-year-old's nervous system proved too adaptive to develop any definitive treatment. Samples were taken and examined for two years before Pabbie and Idunn came to the conclusion that there was no medicinal way to prevent Elsa's powers. The ice was simply a part of the girl.

Other practices were therefore put in place to aid Elsa in keeping the ice in check. It was found early on that gloves were an effective way of preventing the tactile spread of frost, allowing the girl to at least pick items up without freezing them solid. Soon after this discovery Adgar bought a hundred pairs of gloves of varying thicknesses so that Elsa might feel more comfortable interacting with people, although this only prompted her to recommence her education under home schooling. A subsequent realisation this allowed was that much of Elsa's issue was due to focus; if she concentrated on the negative feelings she felt, the ice would grow to reflect it. If she were to remain neutral and put all her energy into a different outlet, the cold would recede completely for a short time.

Picking up on this, Adgar and Idunn decided it was best for their now ten-year-old daughter to learn martial arts, beginning with an obscure form an instructor known as Li Shang had previously taught in China. After several months of practice, Elsa was able to confidently reign in the fears and anxieties which had ruled her. The mantra of 'conceal, don't feel' her father taught her aided this further until she felt able to face the outside world for a few hours at a time, though she found herself reluctant to connect with the few friends she had before her reclusion. It remained common throughout her teenage years to retreat to her bedroom when she felt overwhelmed.

As all this was addressed behind locked doors, Anna grew up confused by her sister's sudden desertion. Remembering only the strong bond the two shared, she made a regular habit of asking Elsa, through keyholes and cracks under the door, to play. This was all to no avail as the answer was invariably a shaky 'no', leading Anna to spend hundreds of long afternoons wandering the halls of the now dark mansion with only the paintings to hear her troubles. It did not go unnoticed by the younger girl that her parents, also, spent much of their time tending to Elsa. They still made sure to lavish and care for Anna just as much as any parents should, but it was evident to the growing child that their minds were always elsewhere. 'Elsewhere' being the attic rooms the elder sister hid away in. In turn, this led to Anna becoming a well-meaning, if academically distracted and socially awkward young lady.

When the younger sister was old enough, she had taken to attending parties similar adolescent socialites were lucky enough to put on, albeit with strict limitations on the times she would return. As her teenage years ran its course, Anna found that, while she enjoyed the life provided for her within her home, being out in the City of Arendelle with friends that actually paid attention to her and wanted to spend time with her was far more liberating.

So it was that the two sisters, who had previously been the best of friends, drifted apart due to the one irreconcilable factor that prevented Elsa from ever having the typical childhood. As aforementioned, the eldest Noble child went on to earn places at the universities of her choice; the first of which was located on the other side of the globe, in a country where the appearance of ice would not be questioned for the winter months, whilst the summers could be spent hiding in relative isolation. That university happened to be located in Oslo, Norway. Therefore, when it came to Elsa's departure she mentally prepared herself for four years without the comforting presence of her family.

While they were at the gates, waiting for Elsa to board the plane which would carry her away for nearly half a decade, Anna promised she would visit her sister in Scandinavia. Elsa agreed that it was a must, although neither had been truly meaningful or certain of the safety. And then Elsa was gone, with updates being delivered semi-regularly when her emotional struggle with the distance died down.

For the first time in twelve years, the lives of the Noble family reached, once again, some form of normalcy. With the threat of Elsa's secret being uncovered gone, Adgar allowed Anna to host her own parties within the mansion. News of her sister's extravagance and liveliness periodically reached Elsa in Norway, where she had managed to find at least one friend whom she felt comfortable enough to disclose her condition to.

It was just as everyone was relaxing into their new roles, as Elsa completed her first year studying abroad, that tragedy once more struck in a form the entire world could see.

On their journey to meet with their daughter, the Noble private jet developed a fault and crashed at sea in the mid-Atlantic. Both Adgar and Idunn's lives were claimed, wiping out fifty percent of the people who knew of Elsa's abilities, but taking away all the security the two girls had ever felt. They were left alone now, on opposite sides of the globe.

The night the news came out, Anna Noble was safe at home; having declined the invitation to see an emotionally distant sibling to instead attend a masquerade ball at the rival Westerguard household. Elsa, at the opposite end of the spectrum, only heard about the death of her parents in the six o'clock news the day after. The shock it gave made her retreat further into her work and exercise as she once again felt her self-control begin to crumble.

She did not return home for the funeral. She did not return when she was named CEO of the Noble Corporation. She did not return home until the end of her Master's Degree. By then, life had moved on considerably in her home town without her.

* * *

**Please Review**


	2. The Woman in Blue - Part One

**Here be where the main narrative starts. Sadly, this chapter contains no actual action, although I promise you it's all building to something. Hopefully I've caught the characters correctly. **

**Hope you enjoy.**

From the sky above, Arendelle City looked to be a typical metropolitan hub. Its outskirts were comprised of brick-coloured town house suburbs and district high schools, filled with urban idyllic imagery to the point that children filled the nearest park with movement visible from this altitude if one looked close enough. Indeed, for Elsa Noble, it even appeared people ambled languidly in the streets without a care in the world. If she looked further towards the horizon, she could almost make out the edge of her parents' estate. Her estate. It had been four-and-a-half years since the green pastures and the glimmering lake had met her ice blue eyes, but she couldn't see any immediately notable difference. She would be surprised if anyone had even entered the building since Anna had moved out not long after the crash.

If the position of the plane had allowed such a view, Elsa would have been able to look down on the so-called 'Mountains'. This was the poorer area of the city; notable for its desolate greyness and low budget housing. It had the strange geographical location of being built upon the steep incline running across the northern section of the city, bisecting the sought after county with a dusty district of the socially less cared for between the bucolic middle class dwelling and the gleaming example of modern industry. That contrast was terrifying in itself for the modern world of social responsibility.

Not a mile away from the thirty-square blocks of frequent night-time muggings, only visible from the opposite side of the plane, was the immense tower of the Noble Corporation. This was certainly a landmark which commanded the skyline of the city, towering even over its closest rival of Westerguard Industries. Without even glancing across the cabin, Elsa could easily picture the exterior aesthetics of a building she unironically thought of as akin to an iceberg; an architecturally creative shape filled in with glass, steel and cement which was far bigger than the average observer gave it credit for. At eighty floors, it surpassed all contenders and could be a major obstacle for incoming flights descending over the streets the city's economy was based in.

"_This is your captain speaking; we are beginning our final approach into Arendelle National Airport. The local time is five-oh-five in the afternoon. Please fasten your seatbelts if you have not done so already and prepare for landing." _The hazy static voice was barely audible over the pounding of blood in Elsa's ears.

With shaky hands, she pulled the thick silk of her gloves firmly over her wrists before tightening her seatbelt. She could feel her knuckles turning white with the tension she placed on them as she gripped the armrests as if her life depended on it. Teeth gritted, shoulders tensed and back straight, Elsa braced herself for a rough touchdown with all the imaginary faults with the plane flashing through her mind in quick succession.

"Conceal, don't feel." She whispered under her breathe, trying to quell the chilling fear rising in her throat. "Do not let them know."

An unfamiliar finger prodded at her shoulder, accompanied by an obviously curious "Excuse me?"

Elsa opened one eye very slightly to peek at her up-to-now silent neighbour out of the corner of her vision. For the past two hours she had been unwillingly sat beside a rather stout, portly man with more chin than was really necessary but the dress sense which just reeked of success. He still seemed nice though, and had shifted as much as possible to allow her space during the two hour connection flight.

"Yes?" She answered, mildly uncertain as to why he would choose to speak to her now. He had had a while to strike up a conversation and chosen to begin just when she was focusing on calming her nerves.

"Sorry," He began with, in a voice that could only belong to one of those raspy, blues singers. "But I couldn't help but notice you seemed ill at ease."

Forgoing any response, Elsa merely wobbled her head in a non-committal affirmative while returning the better part of her concentration to escaping the building storm within her. The whine of engines was beginning to get to her as she felt the descent raise her stomach.

"Not much of a flyer, eh?" The man persistently questioned, reaching into his inside jacket pocket as he squinted past her to the approaching ground.

"Oh, if you think this is bad you should have seen me while I was over the Atlantic," Elsa managed, keeping her eyes clamped shut and her chin held high. "I think sailing would have been a much better idea."

"Nonsense, dear." He seemed to cough before undeniably sipping at something. "They say planes are statistically the safest way to travel. Want some?"

At the inquisitive nudge on her shoulder, Elsa once again risked a quick peep at the offered company. The smell of the whisky reached her before the familiar glint of a stainless steel canteen did. Her stomach did far more flips at the wretched scent than it had throughout all of her eleven hour journey.

"No. Thank you." She declined politely, wishing for the touch down to just be over.

He took another swig before returning the canteen to a secret spot inside his suit.

"Apparently," He continued to drawl, relaxing into his seat. "Alcohol hits you faster at higher altitudes. If you wanted to relax, you should have ordered some at the first offer."

"I don't think alcohol can be served on commercial flights." Elsa tersely responded, gripping the armrests tighter than she thought possible. Her ears popped once more as the rush of the engines filled her hearing. "Besides, I don't drink. I stay in control."

The wheels met the tarmac of the runaway, sending a resounding judder throughout the craft. Elsa leapt in her seat at the sudden meeting of vehicle and earth, whilst the short man next to her just hummed an unfamiliar tune.

"An unwise choice," He lazily protested, juddering at one with the plane as it decelerated to a more gentle speed. "It's too much pressure staying in control _all _the time. All those responsibilities and niggling fears, you gotta let it go once in a while."

"I'll bear that in mind." Elsa lied, relaxing slightly as the plane began taxiing into the terminal. Beneath her gloved hands she could feel the familiarly cool touch of ice, leading her to remain tensed in her seat.

"_Thank you for flying Air Arendelle, if you could please remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop and the seatbelt sign has turned off. We hope you have enjoyed flying with us and that you will choose to do so again in the future." _The captain ended, followed succinctly by the first-class cabin wobbling at the sudden stop and the resounding _ding _of the mentioned lights darkening.

As if the tone had been a starting whistle, the short man jumped from his seat immediately and reached into the overhead compartment. A moment later he swung a trumpet case into the now vacant space next to Elsa before straightening his jacket. He tipped his head at her kindly, making to leave before stopping when he noticed she hadn't moved.

"Still tense, girl?" He asked with some interest, leaning against the headrest to watch.

Breathing regularly and quickly recovering, Elsa gave one last look out of the window before the realisation finally hit her of where she was.

"A little bit," She admitted, finally relaxing her arms and slouching as the air left her lungs. "I haven't seen my sister in four years."

"Ah! I see," The little man exclaimed, nodding with great animation. "Reunion jitters. Well, I ain't seen my cus in almost as long. You'll be fine. Family is meant to be accepting."

Elsa offered a small smile as the man ambled away. She couldn't help but question his certainty at the idea. After all; there had been minimal contact with Anna at the time of mourning which was by no fault of the younger girl. For the weeks following the crash Elsa had been somewhat 'flighty' when it came to reminders of her self-imposed loneliness. Needless to say, the messages Anna left on her phone was rather distantly replied to and had been kept that way since. Just enough so that Elsa's return would not be unprecedented.

A steady trickle of passengers shuffled past her as they disembarked the plane until she was the only one left. Once the coast was clear, she lifted her hands off the armrest to brush away the small, shining crystals that had escaped her control during the landing. With the small evidence safely disposed of, Elsa rose from her straight backed chair and hurried down the aisle, offering the pilot and stewardess a shy 'thank you' as she exited the supposedly safe transport.

The arrivals gate was thankfully quiet, seeing as hers was the last incoming flight of the day. Arendelle possessed only a small airport, with maybe ten planes landing on the runway per day. Subsequently, it was phenomenally rare to have greater than a hundred people at the luggage carousel in any one hour. However, today there was a bustling crowd waiting just beyond the glass partition separating the arriving from the departing and the waiting taxis. It didn't take long for an uproar to ricochet through the air at Elsa's appearance.

She waited patiently for her travel case to reappear from the rotating plates with her back to the cheering rabble. Internally, she listed off all the people on her flight for potential celebrities before coming to the conclusion that the assembled mass must be for her. Her return had been kept as secretive as possible; given her status as a reclusive millionaire inheriting an international company before turning twenty had granted her at least local fame. Had this many really made the journey to the airport just to catch a glimpse of a rich person? It wasn't as if she was a movie star.

Her pale blue suitcase tumbled towards her from the upper floor, breaking her reverie. Composing herself for the approaching ordeal, Elsa turned quickly to pass through the airport. Unintentionally she walked through the doors at the same moment the little man from the plane did. He shot her a kind wink as he nodded towards the excited faces. In return, she merely gave a small grimace before plunging into the entrance hall.

"King Louis! King Louis!" Half the present onlookers chanted, brandishing posters of the little man who was apparently famous for jazz music.

The other half remained quiet for the most part, letting out a single collective yell of welcome. That did not stop the straining of many to shake her hand or the few eager calls in attempts to befriend her. Luckily a metal barrier continued dividing her from the herd but was unfortunately unable to stop the flurry of flashing cameras which captured shots of her or King Louis or both.

Louis himself spun to face her in surprise, before grinning merrily as he stepped out into the crowd and vanished. A hand held up a trumpet case for a moment beside the door, but soon disappeared from Elsa's life.

"Elsa! Elsa Noble! Elsa!" The remainder continued to shout as she slowly approached the point she too would be swallowed by the collective voice.

This many people knowing her name, along with being able to recognise her on sight, made Elsa uncomfortable when the terrifying undulations of the smiling faces came slightly too close. A camera flashed only a few feet away, blinding Elsa briefly and beginning to rebuild her recently swallowed panic. That familiar cool tingle in her fingertips made a resurgence, held only in check by the sudden thinness of her gloves. The sound of all those voices, the noise of their movement, their very presence pressed in on Elsa's senses until it seemed there was no outside world; just these people who wanted to catch a glimpse of her for factors beyond her control. If only they knew the half of the abilities she didn't want.

Just as she was sure the rising fear would overwhelm her, a familiar face pushed through the endless crowd to grab her suitcase and her forearm. As quickly as he had appeared, he turned back to the exit and barrelled his way back into the open air, with Elsa safely dragged along behind him.

"Kai, thank god." Elsa sighed, leaning against the standard black car she had arranged to meet her.

"Sorry for the wait, Miss Noble," The driver apologised swiftly, tucking the suitcase into the trunk before opening the door to the backseat for his employer. "Your flight was actually early."

"Lucky me." She whispered, leaning back on the headrest. Already she was pushing the memories of all those voices out of her mind, aided by the swift movement of the car away from the airport.

Most of the following journey was made in silence, with Elsa dozing on the leather seat to recuperate from the ordeal of travelling across the planet. Her phone, with its limited contacts, remained switched off in her Cambridge Satchel. It was unlikely she'd get any messages at this point. She briefly wondered whether Anna would have texted her, since her sister was the only other person who knew her rough time of arrival. Silence was golden, but for Anna Elsa would have happily endured the annoying trill of an iPhone.

"Has much changed while I've been away?" Elsa asked after a solid fifteen minutes.

"Take a look and see, Miss."

Rousing her rapidly tired eyes into action, Elsa peered out of the tinted windows at the streets that had seemed so peaceful from the sky. Without realising, they had cruised through the outskirts of the city and were currently skirting along the edge of the Mountains. On the other side of the downtrodden streets the towers of Noble and Westerguard could be spotted as clawing at the blue ceiling of the world. The buildings she was met with at eyelevel, however, could only have been equivocal to the dirt of the cold earth. Even on the street ends the shops and houses and schools were notably dilapidated, to the point it was astonishing the local government hadn't done anything about it. At least thirteen homeless people could be counted from the cross section Kai had provided, each one wrapped in dirty, frayed clothing despite the warm summer evening. Elsa was further concerned when she thought she caught a flash of a revolver's casing in someone's holed jacket. Before she had left, the Mountains had never been anyone's first choice of residence, but it had never been as bad as this.

"Kai, what happened?" Elsa breathed, deeply saddened to see the city of her birth fallen so far.

"Business, Miss." Kai simply answered, before relating the events of depression. "The Mayor, Weselton, has a less then socially responsible manifesto, so that did not help the situation. But it was the death of your parents which hit the city the hardest. Without Mr Noble in charge the company had to make cutbacks. A few of the research facilities were shut down, including one in the Mountains, but it seemed most of the privately owned businesses relied on the investment the Noble Corporation brought in. When there was a dip in the market it was the Mountains that felt the effect. In my opinion, I don't think it's hit the bottom yet. Hasn't even started to recover."

Elsa remained silent for a while after Kai finished speaking, weighed down by a guilt that wasn't strictly hers but one she felt nonetheless.

"Who's in charge of the company?" She had been told via email whilst she'd been in Norway, but had neglected to read the finer details due to her desired emotional distance.

"One Mr Pabbie, with some helping advice from your Uncle in Corona." He answered, swerving away onto the road out of the city. "He's doing alright. Scientific research is performing incredibly well. He does not, however, have the financial knowledge necessary to keep funds steady."

Silence returned as they travelled out the other side of the city, hitting the empty roads of the countryside around the Noble Estate. Soon enough Kai drove them through the overly ornate gates which protected the acres of land which now belonged to Elsa. Trees insulated the grounds from the outside world for a good quarter of a mile before finally parting to reveal the first glimpse of the house.

It was a grand affair by all accounts, having been designed with the intricate Nordic architecture Elsa had always admired. The main building was walled in on three sides by the castle-like courtyard, but was backed by a vast expanse of perfectly tended gardens and a lake large enough to host a galleon with room to spare. Alongside the house stood stables, swimming pools and workshops housed in barn façades and endless beds of wild flowers while further exotic species grew in the greenhouses. On the edge of Elsa's vision sat the vegetable patch and a fruit cage to provide for the lavish dinners she was now free to indulge herself with.

However, the only memories of this house she held were the many years of isolation. There remained a few images, seared in to her brain, of times spent playing in the summer snow with Anna. But they were few, disjointed and hazier each time she called them to the forefront of her mind. Instead, she had stayed inside and learnt all she could to pass the time.

As the car pulled up outside the front door, Elsa was surprised to see an unexpected face waiting for her arrival. It was not the face she would have liked to see most, but it was welcome nonetheless as a vision of familiarity.

"How nice to see you again, Elsa." Ernest Pabbie welcomed as she opened the car door.

"Dr Pabbie." Elsa nodded.

They did not hug, or handshake or even high-five as Anna would. Pabbie, after all, understood the medical reason for Elsa's almost aloof personal presence. He had been the one to notice the relationship between her emotional state and the extremes of her powers, so he naturally knew the extent of control she placed herself under. There was a large part of him which disapproved of her practiced detachment from events most people would express happiness at. She did not allow a single smile to show itself at the prospect of being home.

"How have you been?" He asked with a fond grin, staring upwards at the women who was at least a head taller than him.

Elsa froze for a moment, quickly recounting the emotional highs and lows of the last four years. All the nights hidden huddled in ice covered rooms, weeping over her uneven gifts in life. The summer holidays she locked herself up in the Norwegian mountains for fear of losing her cool. Those days she had remained in her sparsely decorated apartment relying on her one friend's company to keep her sane. Four years of intermittent upset and emotional torment to lead her back to this spot.

"I've been alright." She eventually settled on, listening as Kai retrieved her suitcase and moved ahead into the house. "Yourself?"

"Tired," He simply answered, motioning for her to follow him through the doorway of what was now her home. "Old age does not agree with me."

True to that statement, Pabbie looked to be made of the most weathered and sturdy material that his age would suggest. His skin has a strange, pebbled look formed from years of sporadic sunlight which appeared translucently grey in certain lights. He hunched over when he walked, reducing his rather diminutive height even further. This went so far as to the extent of, coupled with his notably large midsection, making him have the not undeserved likeness of a boulder. In contrast, however, he had a shock of brilliant white hair which had been of the same colour since Elsa had first met him as a child. He was dependable, seemingly unaging and, most importantly, the kind genius she needed to help her out when life seemed at its worst. It was true there was nothing Pabbie could do about her powers, but he alone took the time to visit her in Norway when her parents died.

"Have you ever not been old?" Elsa teased with a well-controlled chuckle in her voice.

"Yes, believe it or not," Pabbie responded quickly. "Regular fatigue is new, though. It wasn't so long ago I was working through the night. Now I find myself needing to nap every now and again."

"Doesn't sound like such a bad life to me." Elsa opined, remembering the good days off when she wouldn't wake until many had had lunch. It was a curse with her family. Sleep was too alluring.

"Wait until you get there."

Inside the foyer of the mansion, the air was as still as a museum. The room was unchanged from what Elsa remembered, complete to the perfectly perpendicular angles of the portraits on the wall and the expert spacing of the patterned rugs on the mosaic tiled floor. In fact; the positioning of the furniture was so perfect with what she remembered, she questioned whether anyone had been in the building at all while she was away. She knew Anna had moved out at the first convenience after the reading of their parents' will, but had the house been practically abandoned since then?

As if able to see her thoughts, Pabbie gave her an empathetic look as he explained; "The house has been empty on the most part since your parents left us. Anna moved out less than a month after you were named the owner. Of course, that hasn't stopped her from hosting a few 'balls' in your absence."

"'Balls'?" Elsa asked at the sarcastic tone.

"In a _Great Gatsby _sort of way," Pabbie elaborated, disapproval evident in his voice. "It took Gerda's team a week to restore the damage. Sadly, the statue of the trolls on the west patio could not be mended, although that Westerguard boy was courteous enough to send a replacement."

"Westerguard?" She bristled at the name, remembering an unfortunate incident from her childhood. "He was in the house?"

"In the house, in the lake, on the family yacht. Not in your forbidden wing, you may be thankful to know," The tiny man listed, each item with even less reverence than the last. "It seems Anna has been spending quite a lot of time with him."

To say Elsa was less than thrilled by the idea was an understatement, but that was an issue for later. It was not as if she could change the relationship between them. Nevertheless, Elsa hoped infinitely that there was no chance the Westerguard boy would become her brother-in-law at any time in the future.

"Where's Anna living now?" She redirected the conversation towards a subject she was far more interested in.

"In a penthouse off Queen Boulevard," Pabbie answered quickly and factually, well aware of Elsa's wish to reconnect with her only remaining family member. "Although, if you want to catch her now, she's working in a bar just north of the Mountains. Not too far from the Noble Tower."

"Anna's working? What about her allowance? Her inheritance?" Elsa panicked reservedly, concerned for her little sister who was apparently employed in an establishment off what could be described as the slums of the city.

"She lives off it comfortably, in fact only twice have I had to warn her about burning through that kind of money within a month. No, she just works for the fun of it, or so she says." Pabbie reassured her, feeling the ambient temperature of the room reduce by a few degrees.

Having disappeared up the grand staircase to deposit Elsa's bags outside her infamous West Wing, Kai returned to the foyer with the intention of parking the car in the garage. Instead, he was surprised to find his employer following him and resuming her seat in the rear section of the vehicle with an undivided focus.

"Do you know where Anna works?" She asked when Kai peered at her from the front seat.

"Yes, Miss." He answered simply. In truth it was still his responsibility to ferry the younger Noble girl to anywhere outside of her walking distance and was a regular patron of the bar where she was employed.

"Good. Take me there now." Elsa firmly ordered, before adding the missing manners. "If it's no trouble, Kai."

And so, within five minutes or returning to her longed for childhood home, Elsa departed again in pursuit of the remaining family who made the house feel like a bearable residence. The casual observer may have noticed that, as the car pulled away from the building, a trail of frosty gravel dragged itself out under the tyres. Thankfully, there was only Pabbie to witness the phenomenon. Quietly, he made amendments to the plan he had slowly put together over the last five years to assist the frightened woman.

Just beyond the last street of the Mountains, sat with a view over the local metro station, stood an outwardly shabby looking building bearing the words _Oaken's Pub_. The paint on the window frames and around the doorway had long since begun to crack and chip away from the wood of the structure, making it virtually indistinguishable from the other buildings on its block, and the murky, tinted quality of the windows made it difficult for the passer-by to look in the establishment. But what made this public house different from the others surrounding it was the warm glow which emanated like a beckoning hand from the behind the dirty window and the general sound of merriment which escaped the entrance when the door was opened. Another dividing factor in the wealth of this building was that it was a great deal wider than the closest facsimiles; covering a floor space at least four times wider than its neighbour.

It was here, on her first evening back in Arendelle, that Elsa found herself checking her appearance in the reflective bonnet of her car. Despite having travelled for much of the last day, her clothes were still in a near perfect condition. What little creases that had appeared on her black and green blouse were easily covered up by her royal purple knee length coat. All it took was a small readjustment of the tight bun that reigned in her thick blonde plait, along with the tiniest amount of makeup under her eyes to cover up her fatigue, and she felt she was presentable for the impromptu reunion.

"This is the place?" She asked Kai when she turned to fully analyse the exterior.

"Yes, Miss. If she's working the usual hours, then Anna should be behind the bar." Kai answered, glancing at the small copy of Anna's rough timetable in the glove compartment. She had been reliant on him a few times to reach her shift in time.

"Alright," Elsa said for no real reason other than showing she had listened. "Why don't you go home? I'll call a cab to get back later."

"If you're sure, Miss." The driver responded after a moment's hesitation.

The car silently pulled away from the kerb and disappeared into the sunset, leaving Elsa alone to prepare herself mentally for all the potential conversations she'd have with Anna. Would her sister be angry for the lifetime's absence? Or would she be forgiving for the feigned ignorance? For a brief second Elsa entertained the idea of revealing her reasons for isolating herself from Anna, but then the well-known memory of that ice cloud hitting a redheaded child in the forehead stopped her. It took every ounce of Elsa's control to prevent herself flying off in a scared flurry when she saw the event pass before her eyes again. She _had _to do this. Anna was the only family she had left.

Wasting not a second more on affirming her resolve, Elsa darted to the faded brown door and pushed her way in without another thought. What awaited her on the other side took her by surprise.

Contrary to the harsh setting of the exterior building, _Oaken's Pub _was really a cosy establishment which seemed to provide a welcoming atmosphere and the promise of a warm meal. The main room was built around a central bar which hid all the pumps and refrigerators for beers and wines and colas, as well as a spiral staircase leading both up to a higher floor and down into a cellar. Dotted against the far wall were bench tables covered with buffets of well-prepared food all steaming where they should be. Beside this expanse of edibles was a double door with thickly fogged windows, no doubt leading into a bustling kitchen from the sounds that echoed through when they swung open. Along the other three walls and taking up much of the floor space were varying sizes of dining tables, most of which were in use. Surprisingly, a feeling which actually made Elsa feel better about the streets outside, it appeared most of the patrons were of the poor, same hungry people who lived the area. Best of all, none of them recognised her for any reputation she may have gained. The only noises made towards her arrival were a few _tssks_ of disapproval at her expensive choice of clothing.

Taking a few steps across the room to the bar, Elsa found herself met with the most enormous man she had ever seen. That title was due, rather stupendously, to his height rather than the thickness of his torso. Even sitting he was a good head taller than her and had all the corresponding muscle to suggest he could crack the wood beneath his palms with one swipe. In contrast to this formidable build, his eyes gleamed with childish good will and his smile cut into the bristled copper line that was his moustache.

"Yoo-hoo!" He cried excitedly in a strong, northern European accent. "Velcome to _Oaken's Pub _and restaurant. I am Oaken. Table for one, ja?"

"Erm… Hello," Elsa replied politely, taken aback by the strangeness of this giant. "Sorry. I'm looking for someone."

"Oh ja? Vell who vould zat be?" Oaken asked, losing no enthusiasm.

"Yes," Elsa went on, perching on a nearby stool and still failing to reach a suitable eye-level. "I don't suppose Anna's working tonight, is she?"

"Anna Noble? She's just upstairs sorting ze music," The giant man stood, having to crouch to avoid banging his head on the ceiling. "I shall just fetch her for you."

Oaken marched at a relaxed pace to the staircase, each of the steps creaking under his heavy feet as he ascended. Whilst he was gone, Elsa fidgeted with her gloves. She suddenly found herself wondering if surprising Anna at work was her best idea. Maybe the distant contact they had fallen into was much better, for now at least.

After a few minutes, Oaken returned from the floor above. He still wore that kind grin which looked almost insane from that height.

"She's just coming. Vould you like a drink vhile you vait?" He offered, waving a frying pan sized hand over the countertop.

"Oh, yes. Just a Pepsi, please?" Elsa requested, glancing at the beer bottles behind the counter disdainfully.

"Alright, dear." Oaken replied, reaching behind him into one of many refrigerators to retrieve a bottle of the cola drink with a grace that defied expectations. "My apologies, ze motors on ze fridges have been temperamental."

The malfunction would be evident without the statement, as when the opened drink was handed to her the bottle was dry as a bone and didn't taste as nice as it could have done. Feeling momentarily daring, Elsa looked carefully around her as she peeled off one glove and placed her naked palm against the glass. On one of her better nights in Trondheim, she had practiced chilling her friend's drinks to the point she felt confident at being able to mimic a cool box. If she focused enough, repeating her mantra under her breath, Elsa was able to make condensation form on the outside of the bottle and when she sipped again the flavour was cuttingly chilled.

Around her, music faded in to raise the pleasant atmosphere into a fun environment as Queen's _You're My Best Friend _began playing over the speakers.

"Oaken? I got the CD player working!" A voice Elsa hadn't realised she missed quite that much said from the top of the staircase.

Descending the creaking helical slats, Anna Noble revealed herself to eyes that hadn't seen her in such a long time. She had the same slim build as Elsa, though was shorter by a few inches and was lucky to have rosier, freckle speckled skin than her sister. Her hair was a brilliant, rich copper pulled into two pigtails with the single white streak woven into them. Fashion wise, it was safe to say Anna was more liberal with her clothing than Elsa, seeing as she wore a black patterned tank top and green khakis. Of course, Elsa reasoned that this choice was to keep her economic background secret.

While Elsa observed Anna with a renewed fondness, the look that returned was one of quiet, if motion freezing, shock.

"Hi." Elsa said softly, realising she had not actually planned what she would say despite the many scenarios she'd played out in her head.

"H-hi me?" Anna answered, apparently surprised by this kindly address. "Hi."

The sisters were quiet for a few moments before either broke the tension between them. Oaken watched the awkward exchange before deciding it was best he shuffle away to deal with other customers.

"You look lovely." Elsa complimented, nodding to Anna's hair while doing her best to ignore her own handiwork in the locks.

"Thank you," Anna replied quickly, trying to find a comfortable, casual position to stand in. "But you look beatifuller. Not 'fuller', I'm just saying you look more beautiful," She hesitated, wringing her hands together like she was concerned she'd startled a deer. "You look healthy. The food in Norway must be good."

"Well, I stayed away from the lutefisk." Elsa said, giggling under her breath as Anna's awkward nature.

"Lutefisk?" Her sister questioned, puzzled.

"A horrible dish. It's like a jelly made from fish." She explained, deciding to take another sip of Pepsi before going on. "So. This is where you work?"

Anna nodded, a pleased smile etching itself on her face. "It started as a favour, but I like it."

"Do you get paid?" Elsa inquired as gently as she could, although immediately feeling like that was the worst question she could have picked.

"Not really, no," She answered, appearing to understand the tone of Elsa's words rather than their meaning. "I have more than enough money as it is. In fact I sometimes prop this place up."

Merely nodding, Elsa felt another lull in their conversation approaching with no obvious place to take it next. Should she ask more about _Oaken's_? Or just ask how her life had been going in general? More and more this surprise visit felt like a terrible idea.

"When did your flight get in?" Anna said, also at a loss for where to take the conversation. It seemed as good a strand as any.

"About an… hour ago?" Elsa estimated.

"Have you even been home yet?"

"I touched base briefly. Thought I would see my sister at work, but this wasn't exactly my plan." She tentatively revealed, threading her fingers together as a distraction.

Slowly, Anna took a few steps forward so she could lean against the bar opposite Elsa, looking embarrassed by this turn of events.

"Look, Elsa, I had meant to meet you at the airport," Anna confessed, drumming her fingers on the countertop as a nervous twitch. "But then Oaken called and said he was short-staffed tonight, and I didn't want to let him down and I thought you'd just want to go to bed anyway. So, I'm sorry about this."

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?" Elsa questioned, feeling very conscious that this was her fault rather than Anna's. The entire set up of their relationship was her fault, after all. "It was my decision to come here. I just thought we could catch up. If you weren't busy."

Both sisters looked around at the packed restaurant, all the customers satisfied to be having at least one warm meal. Any drink orders were being automatically sent to Oaken, who was remarkably on top of the demands.

"Sorry, I should probably go." Elsa said suddenly, reaching into her coat pocket and placing a ten on the bar. "Keep the change."

She made to get up and leave when she felt a strong, desperate hand grab her forearm to stop her from leaving quite so quickly. Turning back, she found Anna pulling back with all her might so that they might say a few more things.

"Don't worry, this is practically quiet." She said, releasing her strong grip but not letting go of Elsa's sleeve. There was a small pause before she continued. "Do you have to go to the company tomorrow, or do you think we could meet up somewhere?"

Running her plans for the following day through her head, Elsa was both pleased and disconcerted that her schedule was empty. She hoped against hope that Anna wouldn't want to do anything in public. If her earlier experience at the airport had reminded her of anything, it was her fear that she might lose control in large groups.

"I would love to meet up," Elsa agreed with all the confidence she could muster. "Did you have anywhere in mind?"

Anna searched her memory for something they could do together, with the ultimate hope of reforming their lost bond. "We could go to the mall? There are some new stores I think you'd love."

Behind her gracious smile Elsa's face fell.

"Alright then, the mall. Give me a call when you get up and we'll arrange it from there." She agreed despite her reservations.

With a final nod, Anna released Elsa's sleeve and watched as she exited the building. Within her soul she felt the seeds of hope being sowed that, for the first time in forever, she might have a sister again.

**So there we have it, Nobles reunited. Hope it was alright to read and there will be actual action next chapter. Please review. **


	3. The Woman in Blue - Part Two

**Ta-da! A longer update to start off the action. **

**On a side note; there is some minor swearing towards the end of this chapter (only twice, so no one panic!) as well as, you guessed it, comic book violence. But it's for a good cause.**

**Enjoy. **

* * *

Elsa awoke at four o'clock the next morning. Evidently her late night adventure in locating a cab had not eliminated her jet lag as she had originally hoped, seeing as she had only managed to crawl into bed five hours earlier.

It seemed that while the economics of the Mountains had slumped cab drivers were strongly avoiding the area for fear of carjacking and kidnappings. These extremes, to her evaluative eye, seemed remarkably non-existent; not only because taxis could be locked quite easily from the inside but that many of them had weapons on board anyway. Nevertheless, Elsa had spent a good hour walking around the Mountains in search of a ride and had actually begun heading towards the Noble Tower in hopes someone there could help her when she had spotted a cab driven by a man roughly her age. After persuading him to make a detour to the Noble Estate, which he had been reluctant to do since he was off his shift; she had managed to return to her house by ten o'clock. Following this, Elsa had followed her nightly rituals of practicing three martial arts patterns before allowing herself some rest.

Now, however, she regretted the palaver and wished she had called Kai in the first place if only for the sake of another three hours asleep. It was, of course, unlikely she would have slept for that extra time since her body clock was far off kilter, and she made another working alliance with the nice cab driver who had given her a business contact should she need assistance again. Whether or not her sleep deprivation would affect her control later on with Anna was another question entirely, though she hoped she would adjust if she could get a nap into the next eight hours. It was almost a certainty that her younger sister would be sleeping in until past midday.

So Elsa chose, for the first few hours of summer dawn, to partake in more of her daily rituals of exercise. The secret of some power over her unruly abilities had helped her relieve the overwhelming stress of her condition, which led to her subsequently making sure she led a healthy lifestyle to maintain the fragile peace within herself. Additionally for today, it may help her readjust to the later hours of Arendelle time by tiring her out enough.

Therefore, before the staff could arrive or Gerda awaken, Elsa took the chance to visit the haphazardly organised gym she'd had installed in the attic space of the building. Her average weight training included a full upper body workout to increase strength and endurance, but not muscle mass due to a somewhat picky perspective on her looks. She preferred to look slender in public, as it made her feel there was some semblance of 'the regular person' in her rather than an Olympic level athlete. Wealth and supernatural abilities were enough for her.

Following three sets of pull-ups, press-ups and assorted weight-lifting, she performed her routine yoga sessions before taking advantage of the miles of private land she could run across. It was an improvement on when she would go jogging in Trondheim, where for half the year ice was, coincidentally, a problem underfoot. Here, in her own grounds, she had a forest floor to run on and the contours of the ground to contend with; providing an all-round much healthier span of exercise.

It was when Elsa was nearing the end of her five mile run she came upon a clearing she used to play in with Anna. As a well hidden spot, it was the perfect location to form a small snowy drift where they could replicate Christmas films for hours on end. There was even a dwarf sized play cottage her parents had decided to install to complete the scene. Since then, it had fallen into disrepair and was largely forgotten about, but stood it still did.

Slowing to a halt, Elsa glanced around her to make sure the site was as secluded as she remembered. Happy the gardener would not be able to spot her through the hedges; she whisked off her running gloves and flexed her fingers. Dusty snowflakes swarmed from her palms and dissipated into water before they hit the ground. In a well-rehearsed pattern Elsa drew her hands into a ready position of one cupping a clenched fist, feet together, and willed herself to silence all the different thoughts in her head. For a moment, she stood completely still.

Then, she brought all her power into snapping into an open stance; one forearm raised over her head whilst the other blocked her chest. There was a satisfying snap of loose cloth against her skin before she brought her forward fist back towards her shoulder while her high block opened into a knife hand which spread a staggered wave of ice shooting away from her into the trees to her left and straight ahead. Swiftly flowing into a reverse punch, a gust of cool air rushed away from her knuckles to form a large cloud of mist. This process was repeated in the opposite direction; practicing her aim on both side as she turned to face the playhouse. When she stepped forward into a straight fingertip thrust, she directed the ricocheting shards to fly just over the roof of the small cottage with the release move swiping away a pile of weeds in her way with a frosty blast when she stepped forwards. Footprint by footprint; Elsa spread the frost and wind and snow she commanded around the tiny building until the hallmarks of winter littered the clearing but left the cottage untouched.

Summoning a mirror of ice to rise out of the ground behind her, Elsa suddenly swung around to deliver a swift, powerful roundhouse kick. A mighty _crack_ split the quiet of the trees while the three-inch thick sheet of frozen water halved in height. She was more than happy to note the ear-splitting noise had not been her foot shattering as well.

Breathing deeply, the Noble girl admired her handiwork. When she was alone, well rested and relaxed; she was more than capable at producing complex structures to the point she had once managed to form a chair using her willpower alone. She wished, silently, that she could find this internal calm in the presence of others. But she was afraid that if her powers went haywire and she was discovered, her family name would be tarnished beyond redemption. Everything her parents had worked for would be ruined, the company would be shut down and, most of all, Anna would be on her own again without even the slightest financial support.

It wasn't unheard of for the public or the government to react badly to the research being conducted within the Noble Corporation. Pharmaceuticals were but a half of the investments of the company; with other sections researching protective armours, even some weaponry. If the full extent of the biological experiments were uncovered, the organisation could face major reprimands. Should they discover the CEO was in fact genetically engineered, there was no hope it would see another day.

Elsa could face being branded a freak, monster or abomination. She could face life imprisonment or surveillance. But she could not bear the idea of her sister falling with her.

When she got back to the house the staffs' working day was just beginning. At her request, Elsa was presented with a breakfast of toast, fruit salad and, bizarrely, chocolate milk which she took in the morning room. Following this, as well as a shower and the selection of appropriate clothing for the day, she found herself with nothing to do.

Back in University, she would have spent the morning studying or attending a lecture or working more on her foreign language skills. Today, there was nothing. It was just coming around to eight o'clock and the boredom was mounting on her shoulders. She was honestly thankful, then, that the phone rang within ten minutes of her falling back against the sofa severely worried at the lack of documents to read.

Gerda answered it before Elsa could get there, although she was quickly presented with the phone once she recognised the loud voice on the other end and motioned for the Head of Staff to hand the receiver over.

"Elsa!" A somewhat vacant, childish exclamation echoed over the line.

"Olaf, hello." Elsa responded, a smile slipping onto her face. While the call may not have been Anna, the boy's contact was by no means unwelcome.

"How are you?!" Almost everything on the phone was exciting for Olaf. The average onlooker may have noted the man was a tad of an idiot savant, which was, to some extent, true.

They had met on the first day of University, having been paired in accommodation due to their status as foreign students. There were three other people in the same flat but they had not really hit it off, especially from Elsa's perspective. In her early weeks, she had spent much of her free time locked in her bedroom, which led to seventy-five percent of her roommates branding her a loner. Olaf, socially naïve as he was, didn't give up on her quite so easily. Indeed, he made the extra effort to befriend her by constantly inviting her out and making sure she was comfortable enough in a strange country. He had been raised an army brat, which gave him the ultimate perseverance to get through to her in the end (as well as not recognising the boundary most would). Their friendship had built slowly, but they had become all the closer when, by a turn of events Elsa didn't like to think about, he'd learnt about her powers.

Bizarrely, he hadn't thought of them as unusual. He was in fact rather accepting of most things, or he didn't question the details too deeply. Instead, he was highly focussed on computing and linguistics, his chosen subjects, thus resulting in a loyalty Elsa enjoyed. They had grown as friends so much that before graduation she had offered him a job in computer support at the company, along with setting him up with an apartment in the city where he would move in later today.

"I'm good. Jet-lagged, but good," Elsa answered, tugging at the glove over her phone hand. "Yourself?"

"Yeah! I'm great!" Olaf continued calling, muffled footsteps echoed over the line. "I just wanted make sure you knew I'm heading to the airport now! I'll be over there by eleven this evening, your time!"

Elsa couldn't help but smirk at the heightened pitch of his voice when he mentioned the approaching trip. It was an endearing trait, if sometimes exhausting.

"Great! Can't wait," She replied, feeling that her boredom would disappear once Olaf arrived. "Do you want me to send Kai to fetch you?"

There was a pause on the other end.

"Yeah! That'd be great!" The man child answered, followed by a door slam which could be heard on the Norway side. "Listen, I gotta go, I'm late already! I'll be with you soon though!"

"Alright. See you later, then." Elsa finished, secretly wishing familiar contact wasn't so fleeting. The knowledge of Anna contacting her eventually would make the inactivity more bearable. It was all a matter of patience.

Olaf bid his goodbyes before he hung up, leaving Elsa alone in the house to wait for however long it would be for her sister to wake up. What to do?

* * *

For the remainder of the morning, the eldest Noble found herself refamiliarising herself with the long halls and overly grand rooms that had been maintained in the absence of residents. She visited the clock tower that had been installed by her grandparents simply so everyone in the house would know the rough time when the now-silent bells chimed. In her path she also passed through the grand library in which she could find detailed volumes on most any subject. At one end of this room the wall was decorated with a large family tree; beginning with Edgar Noble who moved to this state in the late 19th century and culminating five generations later with Elsa, Anna and a handful of cousins.

A quick peek into the ballroom revealed minor signs of damage, mostly in chipped parts of the doorframe that were yet to be repaired and a few scratches in the floor. She supposed at least the room had been in use. Doing what something should rarely left it in mint condition afterwards.

One of her final stops on her journey was the gallery; containing the family's collection of artwork from over the last century. Unfortunately, they were much too realist for Elsa's tastes. She personally preferred more impressionist works, though modern art was beyond her comprehension of meaning. Although, a few were portraits of older family members: one of which was Edgar Noble's father Arthur, depicted in his blue military uniform. The paint gave the image an iridescent quality in the sunlight, which forced its way through tinted skylights to provide some illumination. A plaque on the frame below gave his personal motto _For the Good of Others_, words which had played on Elsa's mind in the past and continued to whenever she focused on it.

Wandering back around the opposite side of the room, Elsa was met with an anomalous space between oil renderings of pastoral life. She could have sworn a painting of a female knight used to hang in the wide space above a hard-backed sofa. Indeed, a small hook protruded from the wall as if there _had _been a painting over it until previously, although she soon found herself actually questioning whether she was confusing the woman warrior's image with a storybook. That was something she would have to ask Gerda later on.

* * *

Gazing glossy-eyed a the screen, Elsa flicked through the channels at an intermittent speed; watching some shows longer than others. This had been a practice employed for the last two hours as the hands slowly made their way around the living room clock face to meet at the twelve position. Each tick of the surprisingly noisy cogs drew the seconds by like Sisyphus pushing the boulder. Patience was not uncommon to Elsa. But there came a point where her patience proved detrimental.

Now that there was nothing to occupy her, Elsa found herself analysing the situation far too deeply to be healthy. She was considering all the potential problems that could arise before, during or after her trip shopping with Anna. Her sister could decide not to go, which was arguably benign. Alternatively, Elsa could lose control in the shopping centre, plunging herself into the mercy of the public. If bad enough, Elsa could even kill someone.

It was thoughts such as this which made the anxiety rise in her throat again and her breathing to become slightly more strained. Unfocused, she was a danger to society. In public, she could hurt anyone. It was very hard not to apply the term 'monster' to her situation, as she felt this was what she was more than anything. Her father had told her when she was eight-years-old that she was by no means a monster, as she lacked intention to harm. Calming though this was at the time the consolation ultimately made her wonder what would happen if she ever struck out in anger. How devastating could that be?

To keep her mind away from this pattern of thoughts, she had relegated her attention to the vapid and uninteresting daytime television shows which she failed to understand the appeal of. A subscription to all the music, documentary and sports channels was paid out of her account monthly, but she was still highly disappointed that all the culture and advancements of the world could be represented through _this_.

Eventually, she settled on the local news station to bring herself up to speed with current events. As luck had it, she tuned in just at the moment the programme cut to a video of the Mayor wandering the streets of the Mountains, followed by an entourage, as he pretended to speak to the homeless. He was an aged, wiry scarecrow of a man with cold, greedy eyes magnified by ridiculous round glasses and the most unconvincing toupee Elsa had ever seen perched unsteadily on top of his head. His clothes spoke of old money and conservative beliefs as his shined, probably Italian, shoes brushed through the dusty streets in disgust while his tailored suit screamed alienation from the common man. Still, his thick moustache hid the absence of concern on his face allowing his façade to become all the more interpretative.

The voice over read: "_In a questionable change, Mayor Weselton has relaxed the local government's input in Arendelle's economy to a complete open market, which has led to wide criticism from opposition due to the state of unemployment and a continuing dip in the market. Shares in Westerguard Industries and Corona News dropped by fourteen and four points today, while the Noble Corporation has risen nine. Mayor Weselton has said he has firm faith that Laissez Faire will bring the city back into equilibrium and that until then the best thing citizens can do is find work with newly established headhunting firms."_

As the staged footage played out before her eyes, Elsa found a figure dominating her already low opinion of the ruling party. This man was not the one much of the criticism was aimed at, but was instead a rather young follower who did not even attempt to hide his hatred of the unhelped people. His eyes betrayed no positive feelings, only the coldness of a viper preparing to strike. Though also hidden behind thick muttonchops, his face was permanently set in a hardened scowl with his style of dress making it recognisable that he was previously a soldier. He couldn't have been older than thirty-five and was already discharged into civilian life, despite no obvious impairments. This was not a man Elsa would have liked to meet on a dark night.

The footage on the screen suddenly switched to the surprised pictures of a person Elsa took a few moments to recognise; that being her own form from the day before. A series of photographs of her arrival at the airport played out in a slideshow, portraying her in a less that favourable way. In several photos her eyes were shut, with a great look of indignation frozen on her features. Some shots were quite wide, managing to capture both her and King Louis, while one in particular looked to be taken from directly beside her. This picture made her look like the frightened girl she was, rather than the powerful heiress she pretended to be which would ultimately be bad publicity for the company. Thankfully the final picture, and the one they showed through the rest of the report, was of a much better quality; showing her to be calm, collected and strong, though not without a hint of humanity.

Elsa had completely zoned out of the reporter's monologue while she critically focused on each negative detail and only caught up as he said: _"Miss Noble will be commencing work shortly with her family's company, although she has made no official appearance as of yet. However, that has not stopped rumours already circulating about the sisters. One account, submitted under the pseudonym K.B. has informed Arendelle News that Elsa Noble was reportedly spotted leaving a bar in the Mountains and wandering around late last night. This has led some to assume that this is the second Noble to have an issue with alcohol, but there is no other evidence to suggest this. Anna Noble had been arrested for public intoxication and indecency four years ago, making some wonder if there is a family prob-…"_

The television snapped off, to be quickly followed by a rapid decrease in temperature as Elsa felt herself consumed by her feared anger at this revelation. Ice crystals started to spread on the wooden flooring surrounding her as an gust of wind sprung from nowhere and flicked the curtains shut over the windows. Frozen stalagmites began to rise around her, branching off into a series of smaller spikes in a twisted white thorn bush in the centre of the room. Her breathing quickened, her blood pumping with rage as her senses dulled. All she could feel was a twisting sensation in her chest which deepened the ever-warring conflict of her soul.

But then the freezing stopped, and the stalagmites crumbled to some extent. The burning cold within her stopped as she compelled it to, her words escaping in slowly disappearing misty breathes.

"Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel." Elsa whispered over and over again.

Only one thought stayed in her head, one question. What had happened to Anna? What had happened to her beloved sister in the years she was gone and was it her fault when no one was there for her?

The first answer she could form was 'Yes'.

There was a sudden knock at the closed door, drawing Elsa away from the bombardment of emotion to survey the scene she had caused. Icicles hung from the ceiling over her in reflection to the ones which had shrunk slightly back into the ground. Overall the ice had shifted the tables and the sofa, and was unlikely to melt for the next few hours.

"Miss Noble?" Gerda called through the wood. "It's your sister on the phone. Would you like to take the call?"

Gathering herself, Elsa sprang to the doorway, slipping through the exit to prevent anyone peeking inside.

"Yes, please," She said sweetly, taking the handset from the Head of Staff. "And the living room is off limits."

* * *

The Arendelle Mall was particularly busy on this Saturday afternoon, as the rapidly approaching summer vacation brought many families out to prepare for holidays and the inordinate amount of swimming people generally did to beat the expected heat. Everywhere Elsa looked there were mothers dragging small, excited children away from toy stores and into clothes shops. There were teenagers loitering on benches and next to fountains, laughing with their friends at the endless hilarity of everyday life. Despite the heat, a pair of men in large black coats meandered aimlessly. Even a few senior citizens could be seen wandering the storefronts, eyeing up potential sales. This was a part of life Elsa had always wanted to experience, but now found she enjoyed it less than she had hoped.

"So what is there now?" She asked Anna, who was beaming as she walked in stride with her elder sister.

"Oh, everything," Anna said, quickly glancing at the shops they were passing. "There're DVDs and clothes and book and sunglasses and shoes and hiking stuff and restaurants, pizza, I think, and-…"

"You don't come here very often, do you?" Elsa interrupted, looking at Anna carefully. Since finding out about her questionable activities four years ago, she hadn't known exactly how to think about her. For once, she realised just how much her sister had grown up all those years they had been separated.

"Well, no, not really. But the stores keep changing anyway," Anna admitted, somewhat sheepishly and averting her eyes. "Although there is one place I really think you'll like!"

In many ways, Anna was much the same as she had been growing up. Self-conscious. Socially clumsy. Sometimes painfully awkward. But she was far more confident to be out in the open, so enthusiastic to meet people. It made Elsa wonder if the rumours were true. There certainly had been an incident, when would roughly match up with the time they had been furthest apart, but had there really been an issue? And how far had Elsa contributed to said issue?

As they turned a corner onto the main plaza, Anna pulled her onto an escalator ascending to the next level. That gentle tug, the limited contact of fingers on sleeve, made Elsa stop and smile sadly. A memory floated in her mind as she recalled a red-headed child making a similar action with a demand for the magic snow. It made her wonder if Anna remembered anything of those fun-filled days building snowmen, even as a dim dream. On several occasions she had been tempted to just reveal her powers and explain. Although there would always be that risk the same accident or worse could happen again. It was better this way, where Anna sadly no longer tried as hard to restore their friendship.

When they reached the top, Elsa was suddenly met with a most welcome scent which pulled her out of her frequent reveries.

"Is that," Elsa said, pausing as if she dare not entertain the idea the rich smell was what she thought it was. "Chocolate?"

Anna smiled and nodded excitedly, green eyes lighting up with apparent joy. Elsa couldn't help but mirror the look as she turned to see a busy store with a purple front from which that glorious scent poured. On their hastened approach, they were able to pick out the rows upon rows of various candy bars sourced from across the world. Hershey, Cadbury's and Nestlé looked out as an eye-catching temptation. Even worse, there was a large vat of the melted confectionary ready for specially commissioned orders making it nigh impossible for the Noble girls to walk away.

The pair looked at each other as they crossed the threshold, immediately bursting out into giggles before weaving their way through the crowds to take their fill.

"I knew you'd like it in here." Anna said after each of them had collected several pounds worth of varied cocoa based sweets.

"How did you know?" Elsa asked honestly, waiting for the man behind the counter to finish whisking a personalised chocolate slab into the mould.

"Do you really think I'd forget? Every single birthday cake you've ever had has been made with at least four different kinds of chocolate, because you asked," Anna said as if this was the most obvious fact about her sister. "And it was really difficult not to stuff it in my face when I was making it."

To say Elsa was touched deeply by Anna's efforts was an understatement. She had never realised that for ten years her sister had slaved away to form the most perfect birthday deserts, all for her. In truth, she had always thought her parents had ordered one from a particularly good bakery. Her regret for the distance swelled and it was in that moment that Elsa decided she wouldn't let her powers keep her from the friendship she'd missed continuously. She may not be able to tell her the whole truth, but Anna, her only family member, would always come first.

A trilling noise suddenly sounded from seemingly nowhere, drawing Anna's attention away while she dug her phone out of a roomy pocket on her army pants. Her iPhone gleamed in the overhead light as she unlocked the message, giving Elsa a quick peek at her cover photo. It was a still image of Anna, obviously, in mid-smile and yell while lifting up a bottle of an unidentified liquid. Unfortunately, the person in a similar pose next to her was completely unwelcome to Elsa's eyes, as she saw the side burned, unreadable face of Hans Westerguard. Although the picture quickly disappeared as Anna opened her inbox.

"Oh, my dry cleanings done," She summed up, nervously glancing over her shoulder at the lower floor. "Are you alright here while I go pick it up? It's only downstairs, I'll be five minutes."

"Yeah, sure." Elsa responded, looking to the counter to see how far off her order was. When she turned back, she saw Anna darting to the down escalator. Her sister gave a small wave and a good natured grin as she disappeared below the floor.

The chocolatier finished only a few minutes later, giving Elsa no reason to wait in the store. Instead, she wandered out onto the promenade to await Anna's return. Thus far no one had really recognised her, which she put down to her less sophisticated style of dress today. Rather than the silk blouses and the stylish skirts she had become used to, today she'd chosen to wear simple jeans and a loose blue jumper. Some people still looked at her for prolonged periods of time, but were not able to place her identity due to the clothes and an affected slouch she had employed. The only article which may betray her were the constant gloves which she fiddled with as she people watched from a balcony.

Her 'disguise' made her feel somewhat more hidden in the public eye, and more like the mingling people around her. Although as she watched the ground floor she still felt that uneasy sensation of being observed.

As she slowly focussed on every detail, she noticed two men, both in long black coats, watching her from beside a fountain. One of them looked partially familiar to her, although he was hard to place in her memory from this distance. They said something indecipherable, and one raised his sleeve cuff to his mouth before they started marching in her direction.

Now, Elsa had never been in a public situation like this before, but common sense told her it was best to move away from them as quickly as possible. To affirm her suspicions, she casually walked around the circular upper level to test whether they were indeed following her. A sideways glance confirmed she was the target as one black coat changed course to follow her from below whilst the other continued up the escalator. Sensing they were less than pleasant fans, Elsa quickened her step and hurried to the other side of the mall.

Not before, however, she spotted a familiar head of red hair wandering straight into the hands of two more black coated men, this time wearing balaclavas. One of her captors pulled what alarmingly looked like a gun towards her as he grabbed her roughly. The second one fired at the ceiling; immediately capturing everyone's attention and sending them into a blind panic to get out. While the people scrambled over each other, as they rightly should have to get children and pensioners out of the building, Anna looked up in fear to stare directly into Elsa's eyes; somehow seeing her alone across the chaos. The younger Noble looked terrified, almost begging for help with a facial expression alone. Then Elsa ran on when a black coat suddenly lunged after her.

The mall cleared remarkably quickly on the upper floor, giving the Noble girl very little by way of chances to hide. Wide open corridors and glass storefronts seemed to conspire against her as every corner she turned just deposited her too far away from a doorway to hide and even further from an exit through which she could escape. Whomever was chasing her was unrelenting. Quick looks back showed he had followed his fellow conspirators' ideas of wearing a balaclava. Honestly, Elsa wasn't sure how the bulky man could manage this chase under so many layers, but chase he did.

Eventually, she made the snap decision to dive into the closest store; happening to be one supplying sporting equipment. Once inside she ducked behind a jersey rack and waited. Hidden amongst the fleecy clothing the black coat didn't spot her. All he knew was that she was in this shop and there was only one way out, which he quickly blocked by pushing a shoe display in front of it.

"I know you're here," He said in a voice unbefitting of the implied menace. "If you just come out, it won't be so bad. We just want to hold you to ransom."

Slowly, he treaded across the crowded store. When his shoes squeaked within a foot of Elsa, she forced herself to hold her breath and stay completely still. An adrenaline fuelled chill washed down her spine. She could feel the frost beginning to form on the railings. Each heartbeat echoed in her ears in time with a building dread of discovery. There really weren't that many places he could look in before he found her.

"If you don't," The black coat went on. "And I have to find you, I suppose I'll have to rough you up a bit."

He completed one lap of the store, wandering back around to the door. Elsa's hands began to shake from the mounting chill collecting in her fingertips. Her breathing became more staggered, harder to draw in enough oxygen. All she could see was that moment when Anna had met her eye, communicating her need for help. She had looked so lost, so frightened and so sad when Elsa had run off. That image morphed and twisted into an edited memory of a five-year-old girl standing with a gun pressed to her head surrounded by men in black clothing. Elsa's gloved hand slowly curled into a tight fist as she started shaking.

"And if you try to fight me," The man went on, stopping just in front of her hiding rack. "We'll rough up your sister."

Not _her _sister.

Something in Elsa snapped as those words left his tongue. Her shaking stopped and breathing steadied and before she knew what she was doing, she leapt from her hiding place and straight into her assailant with a powerful, snapping punch. The blow caught him directly in the throat, immediately making his eyes bulge in surprise. A knife hand strike to his wrist caused him to drop his drawn weapon and while the bully was clutching at his neck and coughing for regular air Elsa clapped both hands over his ears simultaneously; discombobulating him with a sudden ringing in his ears. He stumbled back, scrabbling to grab some part of Elsa so that he may pull her to the ground. She managed to put enough distance between them, but not before he could rip off her glove.

The man fell to the floor with a _thud_. She would have left him there, however when she saw him reaching for the gun again Elsa did the first natural thing to come to her mind. Lifting her uncovered hand, she formed an ice block in mid-air and let it fall onto the gun. When it crashed into the floor it shattered into a million pieces, lacerating the outstretched fingers and drawing blood. Her breathing remained study and she barely reacted to this sudden use of her powers.

Her attacker, on the other hand, let out a strangled yell of shock. He looked at her in sheer horror and disbelief, shuffling back on weak legs and bleeding hands with a fear he had not possessed previously. She simply stared at him, anger barely restrained. The cold trickled out of her hands into the shape of a basic baseball bat.

"What?" The scared black coat whispered, before he was swiftly rendered unconscious by a carefully delivered strike.

The improvised weapon clattered to the ground as Elsa released a shaky sigh. She had just broken the only rule that had constantly plagued her. Now, when it came to investigations, the security tapes would show her beating her assailant with powers she would be unable to deny. The CCTV would show that much. All her worst fears could come true, all for a moment of fear.

Looking to the ceiling, Elsa found the dreaded camera in the corner. A sob broke her momentary resolve. This was it. This was the day the damage she could cause would come to light and she would be justly punished for it.

Staring at that small rotating box, tears beginning to leak down her face, Elsa was suddenly struck with an almost unreal stroke of luck. The box remained stationary, pointing away from her. That familiar red light did not blink upon inspection.

"Why?" She asked herself, seeing as no one else was there to contribute. "Who turned you off?"

Glancing around the room, her eyes fell again on her fallen would-be captor. His balaclava had ridden up his neck to the point unshaven stubble was on display. Then she realised the group which held her and Anna hostage must have turned the security system off before they started, since they had been wandering around the promenade without caring about the easily identifiable clothing which could be spotted on the grainy footage the CCTV would supply.

The relief which flushed through her was overwhelming, though quickly replaced by the fact Anna was still in a hostage situation and she was only doing slightly better. Given the way these acts normally panned out, the police were unlikely to take control until they had sufficient forces to take on four, now three, men. And who was going to actually provide the pressure to get two rich girls out of there? They were parentless and their closest relatives lived eight hours away.

Despite the situation, Elsa suddenly felt free. No evidence of her involvement would be available, and if she played it right there would only be one criminal to testify her powers. It didn't take a genius to know such a claim would not be believed. All she would have to make sure of was that Anna would not realise it was her sister, sadly meaning it would look as if Elsa had truly deserted her. What would that do to their relationship?

There was no time for that. She had to act quickly now.

Going back to the unconscious man; Elsa took his balaclava, coat and shoes before using her naked palm to fix his forearm to the wall with a thick layer of ice. Donning the stolen clothing, making sure it covered her completely, she pushed her way out of the store to slowly walk back to the promenade.

The coat was overly large for her, dropping all the way to her ankles in a way it shouldn't have done on men. His shoes were far too heavy, making her worry the _clomping _sound of her footstep would give her away. As for the balaclava, it would do. Her hair, in its tight bun, was well covered and the holes in the cloth only betrayed her eyes. If things played out as she hoped, it wouldn't really matter.

Once back on the balcony above the promenade, Elsa was able to take stock of the situation properly and plan accordingly. Anna was sat on a bench beside the central fountain; hands cuffed to one of the armrests and a black coat guarding her. A second one was keeping watch out of the glass front of the building, counting the crowd gathered on the outside. The police had indeed arrived by this point and were staring back whilst the chief talked into a radio. Finally, the third man was looking in the opposite direction; into the mall. It was him who spotted her first.

He got the attention of the one guarding Anna, who was apparently the leader. The pair fixed their gaze on her, giving Elsa a moment of worry. Then the leader lifted his cuff to his mouth.

"Joe?" The voice said from an earpiece woven into the balaclava. "Did you get that Ella girl?"

Not willing to risk imitating the gruff voice of her previous opponent, Elsa shook her head before motioning for them to come over.

"Is she proving more trouble than she's worth?" The leader spoke again, to which Elsa gave a thumbs up. "Need help?" Another thumbs up.

Down below, the leader pointed for the third man to go to her, still under the illusion she was Joe. Dutifully, the black coat started jogging in her direction as she walked back to the cover of a store as if she was going to wrestle 'Ella'.

"I swear, we're going to have double the ransom for H," The leader said in the interval, repeating his thoughts with elaboration which made Elsa shudder in anger. "This is becoming far more trouble than these bitches are worth."

Putting that comment aside for the moment, Elsa waited just out of sight for the assistance to arrive. When he did, before he could even greet Joe, she span around and snapped her palm into his nose. Blood quickly gushed from his nostrils, staining through the thick fabric of his cloth mask.

Wasting no time, she delivered a strong kick into the side of his ribs before neck chopping him. As he slipped over, she lunged, grabbed the scruff of his neck and gave him a powerful uppercut which dazed him into submission. It took her a few moments to pull the heavy foe to the nearest wall, where she froze his wrists to a fire extinguisher.

That, she realised, was probably going to the easiest this plan would be.

"Joe? Rob? What was that?" The leader questioned over the radio. "Is the bitch fighting back?"

Ignoring the rather accurate theory, Elsa edged along the store fronts until she on the corner on the balconies. This was the part she which could confirm or destroy her plan of attack. She'd done it by accident many times before, and had mastered it at eight-years-old despite the lack of practice since. Now or never.

Rubbing her hands together, summoning a chill, Elsa threw a thick mist into the open space in two powerful streams. The clouds diffused to encase the entire promenade in a matter of minutes, causing much confusion from the yells she could hear.

"Joe! Rob! Get down here!" The voice cried, although she could hear perfectly well from this distance. "It's the pigs!"

Under the cover of mist, Elsa kicked off the boots and ran silent footed down the escalator and onto the promenade. Already the swarms of ice crystals were sweeping into a wall which prevented vision beyond a few metres. Not that it was a problem from Elsa; she knew exactly where she was heading and the mist bent to her will. Nothing could stop her now. They were going to pay for the mere thought of harming Anna. She would stay in control, she loathed the idea of killing them, but they were not escaping justice.

The leader could be heard nearby, so Elsa gave him a wide berth as she rounded the fountain to where the other black coat was twisting on the spot, confounded by the unnatural indoor storm. At this end of the room the mist was not quite as opaque; she could see the equally mystified spectators wondering what was occurring inside the mall. She was fairly certain she heard a cheer when she leapt from the smoke and tackled the black coat to the ground. Pushing herself back to full height, she unleashed two freezing blasts from her hands and directed them over the flailing limbs until they were strongly encased. This one swore heavily at the turn of events and Elsa was no longer in a good mood, so she kicked him a less than ethical area; silencing him with his sickened groans.

A gunshot exploded from a few feet away, instantly making Elsa's blood run cold. Soon after a second followed; ricocheting into a high window. When the third came, this one in her direction, she flung a wall of ice up in front of her and listened as bullet after bullet crashed into the foot-thick barricade which replenished itself at Elsa's command. Soon enough the leading black coat realised how unproductive this was, instead aiming his weapon elsewhere.

"Stop!" He called, despite the fact she hadn't done anything to him yet. "Stop! Or I'll shot her!"

These words stopped Elsa in her tracks. With a flick of her wrist she brushed away the mist into nothing, opening up the remaining black coat's vision so they could stand off against each other. It angered Elsa to see the gun pointed at Anna, who was still handcuffed to the bench. The girl looked scared for her life but, if Elsa saw her correctly, she was thankful someone was standing up for her.

"Joe?" The black coat asked, stupidly.

Elsa shook her head, lifting her hand to strike. Unsurprisingly, the black coat did not understand the significance of the gesture. Slowly, she lifted her foot and took a step forwards.

"Ah!" He shouted, jamming the barrel of the gun more forcefully into Anna's shoulder. "Don't you come closer! I will shot her." As if to strengthen his resolve, he clicked the safety off.

It was at this point, though, that Anna used her proximity to snap her foot up into the black coat's shin; making him yell in pain and drop his aim. Elsa took this chance to fling an icicle across the space and tear the weapon from the black coat's grip. She then stomped her foot into the tiled floor, sending a thin sheen of ice across the surface. Kicking off, she slid rapidly and expertly to the central fountain, barrelling the black coat over.

Twisting in motion, she grabbed the chain of Anna's handcuffs. Focusing hard, she expanded the thin metal just enough to make it fragile with cold before she sharply pulled back and ripped the restraint apart.

"Run!" She yelled in the deepest voice she muster, flinging another icicle into an already cracked window which shattered it.

Anna nodded, before sprinting the distance to freedom where the police and an ambulance awaited her.

Once satisfied Anna had made her escape; Elsa turned her attention to the black coat, who had managed to regain his stance. Crossing the unfrozen floor to meet him, she wasted no time in blocking the high punch he attempted. Unfortunately, she did not see the low blow he sent her stomach, which pushed on her ribs.

Momentarily winded, Elsa's knees weakened. This allowed the black coat to elbow the side of her head; only just missing her temple but making her dizzy for a few crucial sections. A kick to her knee dropped her into kneeling, followed by another punch to the back of her head to make her vision blurry. He pummelled her back and sides while she attempted to regain her composure, blinking away the spots in her pupils.

When she did, she painfully lifted her head to see Anna watching expectantly, fists clenched as if routing for her hero. Her hero. _Her _hero.

With a new strength she didn't know she had: Elsa contorted her body to dodge the fist she felt coming her way and grabbed his forearm with all her might. She kicked off from the ground, moving on a trajectory which took her under the black coats armpit and pulled him with her. The man was flung over by this sudden movement, a serious _crack_ ripping from his shoulder as it was his turn to fall to his knees. When he attempted to get back to his feet again, Elsa span around his wounded shoulder, jabbing him there in the process, and smacked her elbow just below his ribcage to introduce him to the treatment he had given her.

Short of breath; the black coat fell back into the cool fountain. As he went Elsa caught the fabric of the balaclava to unmask him. Although, she did not expect to come face to face with the sneering, pained, expressions of the Mayor's Aide. The exact same Aide who she had watched distantly ignore the downtrodden on television this morning.

He tried to push himself out of the water, but found himself unable when Elsa dipped a single finger in to render the liquid a freezing solid.

Trapped, he was effectively stopped and Elsa was able to breathe properly again knowing she had saved her sister. However, this was short lived when a sudden authoritative voice called: "Freeze!"

She looked up sharply to meet the unsure gazes of several Police Officers who had filed in through the broken window. None of them had drawn their own pistols, but the ones facing her had each placed a twitchy hand on their holsters.

Realising they were sharing eye contact, but none of them recognised her in the slightest, Elsa suddenly felt a strange sensation running from her upper chest straight to her brain. Oppurtunity.

"What do you think I've been doing?" She asked back, in a carefully masked voice before she pelted away across the spreading ice which the officers couldn't follow her on.

By the time they had made it across all they were able to locate was a long black coat and a balaclava beside an exit.

* * *

**So how was it? Please review.**

**Next update will be soon, hopefully.**


	4. The Woman in Blue - Part Three

**With another night of screen-staring comes another chapter(s, too long to leave it as one instalment).**

**Thank you to all those who've reviewed, favourited or followed. I didn't know how well this would go and even just a few who have enjoyed it is worth it. Some of the points brought up have given me more to plan for. One person asked for flashbacks, which isn't a feature in the current stretch of story but may be used in future parts (if I can come up with something as good as an island or the Reverse-Flash).**

**Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

It hadn't been hard for Elsa to find the perfect hiding spot after she escaped the mall. It hadn't been hard to walk through the crowds of people surrounding the building or through the mid-afternoon rush in the streets of Arendelle. It hadn't actually been that difficult to get away from the police.

Striding down into the Mountains, no one looked at her twice; the last half an hour had made her near unrecognisable. This extended even to herself, as when she passed shops windows her reflection was of a very different girl to the prim and smart Elsa Noble. The girl who mirrored her in the glass had her hair in disarray, with strands pulled out of the bun and frizzed up by the static cloth of a balaclava. Her face was flushed, eyes wide from the adrenaline, breathing deeply as if she had just run several miles. Importantly; she was barefooted, having discarded her own shoes and those she had borrowed from a black coat in her get away. When people passing by looked at her, they focused more on her unprotected toes, gathering filth, and tutted disdainfully. It was liberating to be unknown in this kind of environment.

Eventually, Elsa found the place she was looking for amongst the dilapidated buildings in a rougher area of the Mountains. A few homeless people watched her half interested, not realising they were observing a millionaire kicking down the wooden boards covering the entrance to an old underground metro station. Even fewer stayed when she dropped a twenty to each of them and asked them to move away. Then they had just nodded in surprise or rushed off to buy a hot meal while she descended into the shadowy tunnels.

They were dark and damp, and rats squeaked when she walked past them, but she paid no mind to this. A cold wind rushed down the passageways behind her, almost carrying her further in until there was no light. At this point she retrieved her phone from her pocket to use as a torch, illuminating the grey, blue and white tiles and the steep stairwells until she found what she was looking for.

_Noble Corps Research Facility, Keep Out_ was printed on the large door where there would usually be a second gate. It was, of course, locked but that didn't stop Elsa from opening it when she found the tarnished key pad in the wall beside it. In four years, obviously no one thought to delete the password system or detach the separate battery from the door; as when she typed in her father's override of 'E&amp;ANoble2' a bolt clanked within the metal frame and was some effort she managed to push the obstacle wide open.

Beyond this, the pressure of the tunnels opened into a wide hall which had once housed turnstalls for various platforms and later the first of many sections of a research facility. The darkness was impenetrable several feet ahead of her, although that could be righted soon enough.

Elsa felt the wall closest to her and followed it around until her fingers encountered the latches of a loose panel. It was a simple matter of pulling the unscrewed metal plate from the plaster and tiles to pull a mighty switch upwards to bring the lights back on; damply illuminating the circular chamber which had been unused for at least two years. Unsurprisingly, little had changed since the last time she saw this place.

The section of underground railway which had previously been known as 'North Mount Station' had shut down in the late 1980s due to lack of funding, coincidentally closing the surface gates a mere three months prior to her birth. After this, it had fallen into disrepair for close to decade before Adgar Noble decided to purchase the station and several miles of tracks for a use Elsa had never really understood. As far as she could tell, it was a mere extension of the Noble Tower seeing as this entrance hall contained a series of six computer terminals lined against opposite side of the room. The monitors and hard drives were still sitting in the spots they must have been in when the facility was shut down. Doubtless the papers in the few filing cabinets had been recovered and all the electronic documents had been wiped, but there was still a remarkable amount of equipment left behind. Even the noticeboards and chalkboards had been left hanging on the walls, with only smudged markings or pins to suggest there had been information on them previously.

Moving down a corridor in the back of the entrance hall, a threshold she hadn't been allowed to cross on her previous visits, Elsa was met with various stark white branches leading to the many empty platforms through which cold air filtered. In the first platform she visited she found, surprisingly, a makeshift laboratory complete with scientific benches and chemistry apparatus. Further down the pipe-like chamber were four, empty, refrigerators where she supposed promising compounds would be stored. Something the rough size and shape of a train car sat on the rusting tracks, which on closer inspection turned out to be a purpose built isolated lab for particularly dangerous experiments. It made Elsa wonder just exactly what research had been taking place to be relegated to the underground. She'd never really paid attention to the finer details of the company's investments, although if she wasn't mistaken the train carriage lab looked capable of investigating pathogens. If something deadly had been released in the tunnels, it could have spread to all the commuters; creating a local pandemic if powerful enough. For now, she decided it was best to stay away from this room.

What she had thought was a simple, off-site branch of the family organisation became even more bizarre when in the next platform Elsa discovered several crates simply left in the deep contours of the railway. This section seemed reserved simply for the storage of materials no one wanted to reclaim. When she lifted the loose lid off one such crate she found disassembled mannequins for a range of body sizes, although all of them looked to be female at a glance. Another crate she inspected held several hundred pieces of a stretchy, semi-luminescent blue cloth arranged in the ridiculous shape of a spandex body suit. Although, to the touch the fabric was paradoxically softer and tougher than any ski-suit. It almost appeared to be constructed of thousands of shimmering squares, flowing together with each movement. The mystery deepened further.

A third platform she visited in her explorations led her to a rather worrying discovery. The tracks which used to run through this part of the underground maze had been completely blocked off at both ends to allow for a sub-machine gun to stand on a tripod against one wall, pointing at a bullet shattered mannequin directly opposite it. There was a thick glass cabinet with some controls on the inside, while a few of the blue suits hung on a rack beside it. If her working theory was anywhere near correct, then her father's late research would doubtless be completely off the records. Weapons testing was not part of the Nobles' area of expertise. They were not Westerguards.

Wandering down the long halls of the former metro station, Elsa found herself thinking about the events of the last two hours. While she had been on the adrenaline buzz of taking down four armed assailants, she had actually forgotten that constant ringing concern for discovery. She had acted, camouflaged into the criminals, and shown the world her abilities. The people _knew_. The police _knew_. Even Anna _knew. _But they didn't know it was Elsa Noble who had done it. Untraceable.

Except that Arendelle City would not forget the hero who had flung ice with deadly accuracy and called mist into existence like they were calling a dog. Anyone interested by this story would investigate. Even though no one had seen it was actually Elsa who had saved Anna, it wouldn't take a genius to note that a reclusive millionaire had arrived in the city a day before this phenomenon was sighted. Of course, she could always deny the link. But if the imaginary theorists gained any credibility, the authorities may actually investigate her. Then anything could happen.

The anxiety suddenly returned to her in a tidal wave, making the already chilly air drop sharply as ice crystals began to form in the dips between the tiles. There was absolutely no escape from the eclipsing fear that she could one day slip up even worse. Now, unlike all the days before today, there would be people looking for her.

Following this, Elsa fell into a timeless stretch of wandering the deserted halls, interspersed with listless movements and manic testing of her powers. Should she be able to reign in the ice nestled within her every cell, then she would stand some chance. But it became increasingly difficult when that paranoid voice was certain she would be ousted from what small connections she had. Subsequently, when she wasn't trying to force every last snowdrop from her palms she sat in the filthy corners of frozen rooms, reflecting on everything that had led her to this point. Unfortunately, she couldn't find any blame within herself as ultimately the creation of her powers were beyond her control. Similarly, she couldn't blame her parents; seeing as her mother was unaware of her pregnancy the day of that terrible mistake. All Elsa could scream at, when she really thought of it, was the unfair chain of events which brought her to sitting in an abandoned metro station after outright _attacking _four people.

Eventually, she reached a moment of calm. All the energy in damning her existence ceased. She had so much to be thankful for, yet she could only focus on what could potentially go wrong. There was a chance, just as likely as all the other outcomes of today, that she wouldn't be discovered. Elsa Noble could go back to her lonely existence and everyone would forget someone had once manipulated the elements to save a rich girl.

A rich girl. Anna.

It hadn't even occurred to Elsa until now that she had run off without saying anything to her sister, other than a deeply feminine 'run'. Within an hour of promising herself she would never let Anna down, she had done just that.

Blocking out all other thoughts now, Elsa marched back into the main hub to find her way to Anna's apartment or _Oaken's_ or anywhere she might find Anna and apologise for going AWOL. It wasn't right that she had been too concerned with getting herself out of the mall before even asking the younger woman if she was alright. That was something she was not prepared to leave unrectified. Even if she had to grovel.

Just as she was heading away from the rows of desks, she suddenly heard footsteps echoing down from the surface entrance. One set was slow, the other almost weary as sneakers squeaked on the tiles. The familiar sensation of fear ebbed at Elsa's consciousness, making her step back to the centre of the room in order to put some distance between the approaching arrivals and herself.

A thin sheen of ice spread from under her feet, branching out into a two-dimensional fractal pattern which she could walk on comfortably, but these strangers couldn't. All the obstacles it came into contact with were treated similarly, as the frosty layer began to climb table legs and even the walls, ready should it come to defending herself again.

Elsa was surprised, then, when the darkness of the entrance corridor melted away to reveal the hunched form of Pabbie and the short stature of a pale young man she couldn't help but recognise.

"Olaf?" Elsa asked, her panic fading.

"Hi!" He cheerfully, if tiredly, exclaimed as he waved with thin arms.

Grabbing the wall for extra purchase, Pabbie shuffled his way around the circumference of the room until he reached the nearest desk chair, at which point he sat down and activated a frostbitten computer tower. His leaf green coat ruffled in stark contrast with the steady white which decorated the hall.

"I thought I might find you here." Pabbie kindly stated, staring at the screen until he was able to log in. "In fact I hoped you might. Imagine my pleasure when I found this place was in use again."

Elsa watched both the new arrivals with a perturbed expression. Internally, she ran through all the information she had today and realised, given Olaf's presence, it must be nearing midnight. She had been underground for nearly eight hours. That couldn't be right.

"What time is it?" She questioned, truly unaware of anything beyond the twisting walls of the metro. Her phone had been deserted with her shopping when she escaped.

"About quarter to ten?" Olaf conjectured, proving Elsa's theory incorrect. Only six hours.

"How did you get here?" Elsa went on, dully aware Pabbie was typing away at the terminal he was surprisingly familiar with.

"Well, by taxi," The short man absentmindedly answered. "And your private jet got me before my transfer flight arrived."

"I thought you might need a friendly face. Most people do after a fight." Pabbie contributed, fingers still dancing over the keyboard. When he referred to the incident earlier today, it was as casual as a school fist fight over a trivial matter.

"How are you?" Olaf interrupted, ignorant of the collected ice coating the majority of surfaces in the room. For a technological genius, he wasn't the most observant person.

Elsa floundered for words for a minute, completely bewildered by the passage of time and the current strange behaviour.

"Been a bit… up and down," She admitted, glancing back down the corridors where ice and snow were piled high. "Yourself?"

Olaf nodded his head with slow, slightly absent movements. Evidently he was exhausted from travel, but his attention remained on Elsa's wellbeing over his. His hair was messier than usual, the brown locks sticking up all over the place rather than the usual three, and his eyes were slightly glazed over. If he were any paler, he might have camouflaged into refrigerated texture of the metro hub although he must have been wandering around much of rural Norway over the last summer without sunblock as his nose was significantly more tanned than the rest of him.

"There we go," Pabbie said as he gave a resounding, final click on the keyboard. "We shan't be finding more company any time soon."

"What?" Elsa blurted, immediately concerned she could be discovered in a situation where denial would be useless.

"The power for this facility is paid for by the Noble Corporation. As such, when it is in use it is listed with the other expenditures," He explained, unsteadily lifting himself on the slick floor. "I've just edited the system at both ends. Now no one will suspect anyone's been down here."

Elsa nodded as she digested this news.

"You said you were hoping I'd end up here," She slowly said. "There are laboratories and textiles and a shooting range in the tunnels. What did you research here?"

Pabbie took a long look deeper into the old station, a moment of sadness overwhelming him. Then he returned to the present and composed himself.

"We researched you." He revealed matter-of-factly, trying to keep himself as detached as possible. This, however, proved difficult when addressing the woman he had seen grow up.

"Me?" Was all Elsa could say, examining her hands to look anywhere but at Pabbie.

"When we tried to identify any possible cures or suppressants for your condition, we were bound by state enforced laws on how far we could test the samples. Your father was desperate to help you, so this station was bought to disguise the lengths we went to. This facility was officially used for storage and minor compound research. In reality it was a testing ground for experiments no government in their right mind would condone. A major problem with finding a suppressant was that we couldn't locate a creature with the same abilities as yourself, and when we eventually managed it using gestating mice and a close relation to the virus that effected you, down here, all the test subjects were killed by our efforts. It seems any attempt to adjust the temperature differential changed the metabolism to a rate fully mature subjects could not cope with." Pabbie explained, careful to not divulge any of the darker details of the illegal testing.

"So you and mother were correct the whole time? There's nothing you can do?" Elsa pressed, needing to know everything her parents did for her. These lengths would have damaged the family reputation worse than anything Elsa could have ever do with her powers, not counting manslaughter. "Then what was all that fabric?"

"Your mother was unwilling to give up, and she reasoned if she couldn't chemically stop your abilities there might be a way to physically prevent outbursts," The old man revealed, pulling a swatch of the material from a desk drawer. "At around that time, Westerguard Industries began researching a weather-proof, all terrain armour. When you father discovered this, he bought another contract from the military for the same research, supposedly for the medical applications of a semi-permeable material preventing pathogen exposure. With a further batch of mice, we eventually found the material did tamper the conductive process. One such suit was meant to presented to you at University, but sadly your parents accident interfered with this development. After their deaths, the military wanted everything back. I knew these would one day be useful to you, so we sent back only half of the original suits. The rest were hidden down here."

Elsa was stunned by the crimes people had committed for her, torn between condemning the secrecy and being touched they had tried to help her. Pabbie could still go to prison for the rest of his life for withholding supplies from the Army. It was almost too much to take in.

She turned away from Pabbie, finding Olaf looking equally as terrified at the implications of this revelation. The young man twiddled his fingers, pretending to not have listened. He glanced away from the sheer awkwardness of the encounter to soon become genuinely interested in the old computer systems dotted around the hall.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She quietly asked.

"You were distraught in Norway. To reveal this back then would have damaged the last memories you have of Adgar and Idunn," Pabbie admitted. "I was going to tell you after you settled back in here, although it seems coincidence had other plans."

"Well, what do you expect me to do now?" Elsa barely voiced her thoughts in the calm manner she attempted. "Everyone will know about what I can do. They saw it."

"Saw what?" Olaf asked, completely oblivious as he tinkered with the older Microsoft systems.

"What the people of this city saw, Elsa," Pabbie said sternly. "Was a masked individual, who saved another citizen with a remarkable gift without killing anyone. The only person who may have any inkling of your identity is the one person you spoke to."

"Anna." Elsa whispered, feeling a pull to the outside world.

"Does she know where you went?"

"No."

"Then what you should now is go see her. If not to cover your tracks, then to make sure she is alright." Pabbie advised, motioning towards the exit. "You're tired. It's been a bad day. See your sister and come into work tomorrow. We'll figure out what to do after that."

A soft snore echoed from behind Elsa. Upon inspection, it turned out Olaf's fatigue had finally caught up with him.

"You may need to help me get him home before any of that." Pabbie observed.

Elsa nodded.

* * *

The apartment block where Anna lived, situated between the Mountains and the Business District, was actually very nice. Upon entering the lobby, Elsa was met with a kindly doorman and mosaic patterned floors, as well as a roomy elevator designed with soft wood coverings. After explaining her relation to Anna, easily being recognised after tidying up her appearance, Elsa was pointed to the ascending cabin with no further delay.

Her sister's floor was equally rich in décor, having a surprisingly thick carpet underfoot and walls decorated with understandably low priced paintings. This corridor only had two doors, each labelled with the tenants' names. It was therefore not very difficult to locate one Miss Noble.

Checking her faint reflection in the glass of a painting; Elsa made sure her bun was tight with no visible stray hairs. She had dropped by her own home after taking Olaf to his new apartment further into the city, taking a few minutes to right her errant appearance before heading out again to be within the building by no later than ten-thirty. Amongst the small supplies she had chosen she now wore new low heeled shoes, silk patterned gloves and a fresh shirt more in keeping with her wealthy, professional style.

The pale expanse of the door was foreboding to Elsa. She truly had no idea how Anna would treat her now. In all honesty, she'd never really spent enough time with Anna to find out what she did when she was mad. This would be a new experience for both of them. So, forcefully calming her nerves for the moment, Elsa gently rapped her gloved knuckles against the hardwood.

Footsteps creaked on the other side of the door, followed by a brief pause during which Elsa carefully smiled into the peephole. Then she heard several locks _click_ before the wooden partition swung aside to reveal Anna.

Her sister looked remarkably withdrawn from all emotion, showing neither distaste or enthusiasm at Elsa's presence. She had dressed down after the earlier confrontation, now wearing loose sweatpants and a _Green Lantern_ t-shirt. The shirt itself seemed to be several sizes too big for her petite frame, to the extent the lopsided article almost revealed one of her shoulders. It suddenly occurred to Elsa that, if one didn't factor in the inherited wealth, Anna looked just like a regular person; borrowing clothes and not caring what she looked like when alone. On the other hand, Elsa always made the effort to look smart at all times.

"Hi." Elsa offered in a smaller voice than intended.

"Hey." Anna replied, sounding rather frustrated with an overworked drawl.

"How are you?" The older woman was truly uncertain, like always, of her sister's inner thoughts.

Anna was quiet for a few moments, but then waved Elsa into the apartment. Stepping in, Elsa was surprisingly delighted to find the interior well furnished with similar tastes to their parents. Much of the wooden floor was covered with intricately decorated rugs, with the furniture on top of it arranged in the most efficient way to maximise space. Beyond the small hallway, complete with a hat stand and a shoe rack made of dark oak, was a spacious living room with a working fireplace. Inside this room was a large, comfy sofa, as well as two armchairs, all facing the large television set which was currently playing the news. There was an additional chair between one of two large arched windows overlooking part of the Mountains but also most of the richer areas, backed against a filled bookcase of classic fiction. To the left was an equally large kitchen, adorned with all the modern appliances required for day to day living but with the added decoration of marble countertops. In the corner room between the living room and the kitchen was a wide dining room, where a table accompanied with eight high-backed chairs which may see more use than Elsa assumed sat. Indeed, there seemed to be a board game half played waiting for the rules to be recommenced.

"So how are you?" Elsa asked again, standing awkwardly while Anna took a seat on her sofa.

Her sister reached for a half-full bottle of beer, taking a sip before she answered. Glancing to the table top, Elsa noticed there was a second, slightly fuller bottle beside it. She felt like she was missing something.

"After being held at gunpoint and saved by some madman, I'm surprisingly well." Anna stated with some annoyance.

Without meaning to, Elsa released a sigh of relief. Anna was nowhere near knowing it was her who had done the saving. Indeed, she was under the impression it was a man who performed those feats instead. If Anna, who had been closest to her during the event, hadn't recognised her then the scent was off her completely.

Unfortunately, Anna heard Elsa's sigh, which did not improve her mood. She took another swig of her drink before placing it down and motioning for Elsa to sit. The atmosphere was tension ridden, to the point it was almost weighing them both down.

"Elsa," Anna said after a few more moments of suffocation. "Where did you go?"

There was a myriad of emotions in those few words, making Elsa wonder what the best way to answer was. Obviously she couldn't give the truth. But equally she honestly did not know how she could explain her absence without contradicting herself. Anna could have looked everywhere for her for all she knew.

"I, uh, ran away." Elsa stated, trying to stick to as much truth as possible.

"I know _that_," Anna said, shortly. Her eyebrows knit together as her eyes narrowed. Anger. That was definitely anger. "I tried to find you afterwards. I asked everyone present if they'd seen you. None of them had a clue. When I last saw, that goddamn scumbag was chasing you. The police found your bags, your phone with it, so I couldn't call you. It's been _seven hours, _Elsa. Where did you go?"

Elsa sat there, slightly shocked for a moment. Never had she seen Anna so angry. She was truly at a loss for words when her sister had lightly exploded at her. The shock held her so deeply she realised after a few moments there was no way she could form a convincing cover story. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came.

"You know, I really thought," Anna continued, looking so tense and terrifying as she balled herself up on the sofa, eyes never leaving her sister. "When you came to the bar yesterday that we were going to be friends again. I was _so _happy. Do you know how alone I've been these last few years? I thought you hated me, for something I could never remember doing. What did I do to you? What, on God's green earth, did I do to you to make you shut me out?"

Again, Elsa was at a loss. However this time, when she saw rage filled tears begin to leak from Anna's eyes, she nearly spilt all of it. The powers, the accident when they were children, her earlier involvement, everything.

But then the bathroom door suddenly unlocked in the background, revealing the last person Elsa ever wanted to see. It had been ten years since they had last seen each other and fifteen since they had actually spoken. Now, standing in casual jeans and a dark green jersey, hair damp and sideburns trimmed into shape, stood Hans Westerguard. Known to the public as the manager of the Arendelle branch of Westerguard Industries, which his parents ran from his more tropical home of the Southern Isles. Suddenly Elsa understood why there was a half-finished board game and a second beer on the coffee table.

Hans looked between the two sisters, surprised for a start that Elsa was there.

"What's all the shouting about?" He asked concernedly, although Elsa doubted there was any real concern there.

Neither Noble girl made a move to answer, feeling this was a very private matter.

"What's he doing here?" Elsa asked instead, letting more spite into her tone than she really meant.

Anna turned back to her sister lightning fast with even deeper anger etched into her usually chipper face. Elsa reflected that it was a really bad idea to say anything about Hans' presence.

"He's here because, unlike you, he made the effort to make sure I was alright at the mall!" Anna yelled, leaping from her seat with sudden energy. "What's more, he was on the other side of the city when he found out! He made the effort to get to the mall, and _you_ got the hell out of there! You're my sister! You weren't there for me when I needed it! You've never been there!"

As Anna carried on, more tears spilt onto her face in her frustration at being seemingly victimised for something she didn't understand. In comparison, Elsa lost her mastery of her feelings when she was accused of not being there, when she had been there more than anyone. A single drop of cold water slid down her face. That was it.

However, while Anna wound herself up more and more, it was Hans who interrupted the vicious cycle by coming to Elsa's defence.

"Wow, wow, Anna. Breathe," He gently encouraged, closing the space between then and carefully holding her upper arms. "Look, you've had a rough day, but so has Elsa. I can't say anything for whatever happened in your childhood, but Elsa was under just as much threat. She had a chance to get out, and I daresay she was frightened."

To Elsa's begrudging astonishment, Anna listened to Hans. She took a few deep breathes and her anger visibly subsided. Only her tears remained.

"I wouldn't have left you." Anna said, somewhat bitterly before she finally pulled herself together.

"I'm sorry I left you behind," Elsa stated, doing her best to maintain eye contact when every nerve in her body told her to look away. "For all those times."

Anna merely nodded, but sat opposite her with more willing eye contact. Hans picked up his drink as he took a seat beside Anna, only a few short inches away which was far closer than Elsa would have liked.

"So, how are you, Elsa?" He asked conversationally, holding the neck of the bottle just off his lips.

"Well. Slightly stressed," Elsa replied, woodenly. "Forgive me for asking, but why are you here?"

"Oh, yeah, I understand your concern, sorry," Hans said in an awkward manner which echoed how Anna usually spoke. "I just made sure Anna got back here alright. Did some paperwork. Had a quick shower after I'd finished working. Although your sister does a very good job at distracting me with games."

He suddenly blushed, Elsa wondering if he could do it on demand.

"We were playing _Ticket To Ride_. Not what you might be thinking." He clarified, suddenly rather bashful.

Elsa just stared blankly at him, not appreciating the implications. If there was any way to go back in time and make sure she had actually met Anna in the confusion afterwards, she could have put off this inevitable meeting for a little longer.

"Oh! It's on." Anna suddenly called, more like her usual self.

She grabbed the remote and turned the television up. On the screen, a reporter sat in front of projected images of the mall; mainly of its damaged front window but with glimmers of the artificial ice rink in the background. There was footage of ambulances and police cars aligned in a protective circle as a spectator evidently filmed the events from the side lines.

"_Citizens were shocked today when a hostage situation arose at Arendelle Mall." _The reporter said with professional detachment. _"Four gunmen held Anna Noble, youngest daughter of the late Adgar Noble, to ransom after capturing her in a shopping trip. Although, before the police could call in the appropriate forces to deal with the matter, spectators saw a masked figure rescue Miss Noble." _

The screen switched to a grainy recording of said masked figure, who currently sat with her sister and a man she hated, leap from the mist to wrestle a gunman to the ground. Elsa couldn't help but admire the unladylike kick she gave the trapped man who really was less than pleasant. Following this; the footage was edited to show the masked Elsa flicking away the fog, then fling an icicle towards the last gunman. The Mayor's Aide.

"_As you at home can see, this assailant portrays what is believed by some to be cryokinesis. However, we at Arendelle News suggest it is instead expert electronics use of smoke machines and prototype weaponry. Either way, this has been in keeping with national examples which have arisen in the last few months. These examples include Flynn Rider of Corona and the Archer in Dunbroch." _

"Flynn Rider?" Elsa asked aloud, looking to her sister for answers. "The Archer?"

"Mad people," Hans unwantedly supplied. "Trying to fight organised crime in fancy clothes. If we get one here I think we could form the Avengers."

"_The assailant disappeared before they could be apprehended, but the four gunmen were all arrested. Most of them, after investigations, have been found to be ex-convicts. The fourth has been identified as George Jones, known in local government to be an Assistant to Mayor Weselton. He is currently being held in the county jail, awaiting bail._

"_When asked, the Mayor defended Jones; saying that he finds it highly unlikely Jones would willingly involve himself in this scenario. Until further evidence of his contributions is found, Jones will be omitted from prosecutions and is expected to resume his duties tomorrow. There is expected to be a full enquiry within town hall in the next few weeks."_

The reporter moved onto a different story like he was reading synopsises on the internet, leaving the three young adults to be outraged.

"I can't believe it!" Anna yelled again. "He held a bloody gun to my shoulder! There's no way the Weasel can defend him like that!"

"Even if he does, there's plenty of evidence against Jones," Hans contributed, becoming a tall, almost confusedly mad parody of the girl. "Not least in that there are two hundred witnesses who can place him at the scene."

Elsa remained quiet, but the muscles in her fingers contracted to the point it felt like she was going to break her own hands. If the city had got to the point its Mayor would still promote shifty advisors, then there was something seriously wrong with the justice system. In less than twelve hours, the man who had almost shot her sister and given her a few choice bruises on her lower chest would be walking into the City Hall, practically free. There was a disturbing feeling in her heart that she actually_ wanted_ to punch him in the face again.

Anna and Hans calmed down after a few moments. The unwanted company shook his head as he moved through to the dining room, taking stock of the paused game. Elsa's main concern, her younger sister, rubbed her face in frustration and heaved a final sigh.

"Do you want a drink?" She asked, turning to Elsa with the kind eyes most associated her with. For now the older girl was forgiven.

"No, thank you. Don't worry," Elsa replied, rising and glancing to the door. "I should be going anyway; I'm meant to have my first board meeting in the morning."

"Oh," Anna said, her saddened voice bringing guilt back into Elsa's focus. "Okay."

"But I'm not doing anything tomorrow evening," Elsa contributed before she realised she was speaking. "If you're not working we could go to the cinema? Or a restaurant? Have a proper catch up."

Anna's face, which always mirrored her exact thoughts and feelings, pulled itself into a hopeful expression which was extraordinarily surprised but pleased simultaneously.

"Yeah. No, I'm not working," She answered, beginning to fidget in excitement. "I'd love to! Erm, I could show you some of the more 'happening' places? And I'll try not to be abducted this time."

"Yes, that would be a good idea," Elsa beamed, stepping towards the doorway. She stopped when she spotted one wall decoration which had been hidden to her up until this point. "Is that _Joan of Arc_?"

A gigantic, over-ornate frame commanded an entire section of the living room wall. The canvas it held was of a well-aged oil rendering of the French hero, sitting astride a white stallion in the midst of battle. Her shining sword was held high above her head, silver shield tight against her sparkling armour as she looked back at whomever she was fighting. It was a vivid piece of realist art, though not without its beauty.

"Hmm? Oh yeah," Anna said nervously when she realised what Elsa meant. "I kind of, may have taken it from Dad's gallery when I moved out. Sorry."

"No, don't be," Elsa assured admiring the art which had cost several thousand. "Keep it. I was never really into paintings, anyway. It is nice though."

"It's my favourite," Her sister stood beside her, studying the canvas intensely. "It's not often you have a female action hero."

Elsa, stiffened a moment, then agreed.

"I should be going now. I've got exercises to do," She said, crossing back into the corridor while Anna held the door. "But shall we meet at the Tower? Around half-six."

"Yeah, yeah. Of course!" Anna enthusiastically replied, trying to keep herself from fidgeting too much. "I'm really sorry for yelling at you. Like Hans said, it's been a strange day."

"No, I have been crap. I'm trying to do better," Elsa stated, regret clear as day. "I have a lot to catch up on."

Anna didn't say anything, but her smile didn't falter either.

"Goodnight, Elsa." She said, offering a small wave.

"Goodnight." Elsa replied, making to walk to the elevator.

"'Night Elsa!" Hans shouted, appearing from the corner of the kitchen to gesticulate in some form of wave while the elder Noble was still in sight.

Remaining silent, Elsa merely gave Hans Westerguard a tight smile before she disappeared.

* * *

**Please Review**


	5. The Woman in Blue - Part Four

**Oh? What's this? A double update? Or the product of an afternoon spent writing when I should be studying. Whoops.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

An early, rested morning brought Elsa to another part of her dread for returning home. The mandatory first day of work. If she had her way, everyone would skip straight to her second day at the Noble Corporation; when she would already be separate from the employee's expectations of the mysterious new CEO. Up until now, the company had been drifting under the split management of Pabbie and her absent Uncle. From today there would be only one name associated with all the risings and fallings of the organisation.

To say she felt pressured as she walked through security in the lobby was an understatement. Whilst they checked all her identification, complete with mandatory searches of her briefcase and handbag, she looked around the gleaming interior of the building. It really was the sleekest example of modern architecture available; everything in varying shades of white, black and grey. There were a host of receptionists ready to book in all visitors at the long desk spanning much of the lobby. Beyond the interior windows, a central south facing courtyard basked in the limited light the layout allowed and she could see straight across to the cafeteria. Very modern.

"Thank you for waiting, Miss." The broad shouldered guard said, handing back her belongings.

It seemed that in her absence the board had decided they needed a tight hold on what came in and out of the building. Even though a platoon of dark-shirted men carried tasers in case of an extreme problem, the silk suited men upstairs felt it was necessary to install heavy metal shutters above the entrance should they need to lock down the labs and offices. Additionally, the glass up to the fifteenth floor was bullet proof; giving the world outside a distinctly dark tint. Elsa really felt none of this was really required of a company which dealt mainly in pharmaceuticals. Most of the other departments were run on the outskirts of the city.

After checking in, receiving her pass and notifying reception that Anna would be visiting later Elsa entered a shiny, silent cubicle which carried her directly to the top floor, which was reserved for managerial positions only. When she opened the door to her office, she was thankful that Pabbie was there waiting for her.

"Good morning." He greeted, looking down at the smaller than ant-sized people in the streets.

"Good morning," She repeated, placing her coat on the hat stand and her briefcase on the glass desk. "What's on the agenda today?"

The view Elsa's office commanded was immense. One entire wall was dedicated to a curved expanse of glass which allowed a panoramic view of the city. On inspection she was able to spot _Oaken's_ and Anna's apartment building, which were a decent four miles away from each other. Behind these landmarks sat the ever present and ever worrying stretch of the Mountains, which were somehow still gloomy despite the shimmering summer sun. To the far right, Elsa found the rooftop of the Westerguard Tower was more or less on the same level; filled with ventilation motors and a single helipad. It wasn't a bad sight overall.

"The meeting's in about five minutes," Pabbie recalled, paying attention to the middle section of the Mountains where the Research Facility sat. "Then the standard paperwork and you'll have to be introduced to all the heads of departments. An hour for lunch. Then a few applicants to be your PA."

"Doesn't sound too bad." Elsa commented, inspecting her desk next.

"Wait until you meet the shareholders," Pabbie simply stated, stepping away from the window and looking at Elsa. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. Jet lag's gone," She reported, activating her desktop. She understood Pabbie's meaning, but was reluctant to say anything out loud. "And I have a meeting with the Mayor at five so I need to be out by half-four."

"Did you see Anna?"

"Yes."

"Was everything alright?"

Elsa paused, partly due to being unable to access her login but mostly due to her impromptu review of the night before. After pressing the button designated for technical help, she attempted to sum up the events of her visit.

"She was upset at first. We're meeting later." It was best kept short, without a rant about the questionable presence of Westerguard. Even more questionable now that Elsa realised the man kept spare clothes in Anna's apartment.

"Does she know?" Pabbie was intent in understanding the situation completely.

"No. She thinks it was a man yesterday."

"Good," He simply stated, tenting his fingers whilst considering all his knowledge of the past few days. "And what I said yesterday, how do you feel about that?"

Stiffening with the reminder of all the crimes Pabbie and her parents had collectively committed, Elsa met the old man's eye. He was monumentally concerned by what she thought of it all, she could see that easily. But there seemed to be some planning going on in his head, like he still knew more than he would willingly reveal.

"I'd like to investigate it further. For now I'm just focussing on the next twenty-four hours." She answered, just before a buzzer went at the office door.

Unlocking it from the controls at her desk, another pointless security routine, the door swung open to admit a dishevelled but altogether tidier Olaf. He was far more awake than his fatigue filled appearance yesterday, his enthusiasm increasing with it in a relationship Elsa thought she could express as an exponential equation.

"Someone called for assistance?" He chirped, practically running to the computer in excitement.

"Yeah, can you sort out my internet? I'm not authorised yet, apparently." Elsa described the problem, having never really taken an interest in the technological advancements of her childhood. This ran to the extent she barely knew how to work her iPhone.

"Yeah, sure! That's only minor," He cried, ushering her away from the desk as he grabbed the keyboard. "I've spent the entire morning getting to know the system. If only your firewalls were like those guys on the doors. They remind me of my brother."

"Elsa, we have the meeting." Pabbie reminded, walking out the still ajar door.

"I'll be there in a minute," Elsa responded, quickly checking her phone and throwing a smile in Olaf's direction. "Thanks for this, lunch later?"

"Of course! I'll meet you in the cafeteria." Olaf answered happily, soon slipping into a computer driven trance.

Elsa found the boardroom after wandering the corridors for a few moments, unfortunately arriving after all the other members. Many of them were bland faced bureaucrats or pencil pushers, lining the table with only a financial interest in the company. Pabbie took the seat beside Elsa's place at the head of the table, giving the other people present a wary glare. As soon as she sat down in the large leather seat the man to her other side began speaking. If she remembered correctly, his name was Goddard.

"Alright everyone, let's keep this short," He opened, gaining everyone's attention and ceasing any whispers. "First of all, I'd like to welcome Miss Noble, who as you all know is taking over as Chief Executive. Let's give her a round of applause."

The resulting chorus of claps were half-hearted, making Elsa internally cringe though she smiled politely nonetheless.

"Any words before we get down to business?" Goddard asked, leaning towards her but facing the others.

"No, not really. Just a general hello, and I look forward to working with you all." Elsa decided to, in Goddard style, 'keep it short'. She already didn't like him.

They slipped into quick discussions over general matters, many of which Elsa did not need to weigh in on. It seemed the company was largely under control with Pabbie keeping a hold over the projects each department had going. She did observe, however, that whenever Pabbie suggested another venture on the fringes of biological knowledge Goddard would _huff_ in annoyance. That particular habit began to get on Elsa's nerves after only ten minutes sat next to him. These projects were what the company was primarily about, not making a profit. The wealth was just a happy by-product.

"What's the problem?" Elsa asked forcefully after Goddard made the disgruntled sound when Pabbie asked about the possibility of expanding research of adaptive cell rejuvenation.

"Dr Pabbie has several of these ideas every day and it's been keeping a lot of the departments preoccupied." Goddard explained, failing to see his own stupidity.

"That's what the company exists for; ideas like these keep us going." Elsa defended, angered at the dismissive nature the board members exhibited.

"Well, _yes_, but there does come a point when these projects are doing more harm than good," The businessman said, tapping a shiny pen against the unused notepad in front of him. "After all, the company has been fluctuating between profits and losses for the past three years."

Elsa was struck by the fact she had not heard about this sooner. She had absolutely no idea what they meant.

"I beg your pardon?" The question was evidently absent of any knowledge, but Elsa asked it all the same.

"After Mr Noble left us, the company dipped significantly in the market. We had to lay off twenty-five percent of our workers and shut down any branches we didn't need," Goddard explained like it was a game. "Our stock only began recovering when the news broke you were returning. But regardless of our growth on the market, we are nowhere near where we stood while your father sat in your place. We cannot afford to run all these 'ideas'. When we negotiate the merger, then we might be able to invest more, but until then-…"

"Merger?" Elsa interrupted, having understood the gist of Goddard's meaning. It wasn't as if the company would collapse in the next few days. They were sitting on a reserve of _billions._ "What merger?"

Goddard was apparently surprised she was unaware of this, given the eyebrow-raised stare he sent towards Pabbie. When Elsa rounded on him, the old man wore a significantly guilty expression.

"We have been discussing a merger with Westerguard Industries for the last few months. Many of the board believe it's the right thing to do to regain interest." He unwillingly stated, keeping his eyes as blank as possible.

"What?! With the Westerguards?" Elsa could barely contain her outrage, feeling the cold ache in her hands when she processed what that meant.

"They approached us," Goddard revealed without concern. "In fact, your sister's boyfriend is very enthusiastic it goes ahead."

"Let me make one thing clear, right now," Elsa commanded, in a voice she had never used before. She felt such venom in throat she had to spit her hatred at somebody. "We are not joining with another company, especially not the Westerguards."

"Then what do you expect us to do?" Goddard inquired, outraged as the order.

"The research which lined your pockets in the first place, even if we have to spend more to achieve it," She stressed, staring down each and every discoloured face in the room. "I will not let this company leave my family."

* * *

At five o'clock promptly, Elsa strode into the City Hall with her general grievances of the day bubbling beneath her skin in a cold fire which pushed on her senses. As the day had gone on, she became more and more convinced she was not cut out to run the Noble Corporation. After the meeting, during which she had ordered all decisions to go through her as per the role of CEO, she had spent three hours signing various applications for funding and assessing the expenditures in case they could cut costs anywhere. There had been almost no time to see Olaf at lunch, although he seemed happy enough, due to an urgent meeting with the police to question her on the Mall attack. Luckily, the police were unable to pull any CCTV evidence given the criminal's tampering; allowing her to gloss over the fact she never escaped. Instead she fabricated a story that someone who she didn't see took down her pursuer as she reached an exit. Hopefully that wouldn't disrupt the course of justice too much.

As she was shown up to the Mayor's office, Elsa took a good look around the inner workings of the local government. The people did not appear any different to what she expected, but it wasn't them she was particularly inspecting. Instead, she was searching amongst the desks and piles of paper and potted plants for _him_. Jones.

He couldn't actually be spotted until she was shown to the Mayor Weselton's door. Spying through the glass pane, Elsa was met with the highest political power in the city and the man who had threatened her sister talking quite amiably. They didn't even act like colleagues all that much, although it was clear who the subordinate was. There was no doubting these men were friends. It made Elsa sick to consider.

Their conversation swiftly drew to a close when the scarecrow-esque man spotted her. Jones exited with a heavy tread, but took the opportunity, while passing Elsa, to give an emotionless sneer. He didn't even try to hide his pride at the events of yesterday, even though he was meant to be under investigation. How could Weselton even begin to deny Jones' involvement?

"Ah, Miss Noble. How wonderful to meet you." Weselton said, offering her a handshake which she reluctantly accepted. He was even shorter in person, but his face was magnified enough by his glasses to be compared to a monkey. A chicken man with a monkey face, who defends criminals, was running the city.

"Likewise." She lied, taking a seat at his desk.

"What can I do for you?" He asked conversationally, although his shrew-like eyes seemed to be prying into her inner thoughts. "It's not often I meet with the big bosses. I have to say, you're very secretive in that tower of yours."

"Most of research is kept that way, we don't want competitors catching onto us," Elsa briefly explained, knowing her father's policy rather well by now. "But I'm not here for work. I just wanted to ask why you bailed out the man who was going to shoot my sister."

Weselton looked genuinely surprised she had brought up this subject. As if he was unaware Anna Noble was in any way related to Elsa Noble or George Jones was meant to be in prison by all account of the law. He blinked twice, gathering an answer, before trying to sell his argument.

"Because I don't think he was a mastermind in all this. Obviously he was blackmailed." Weselton said like it was a largely simple matter.

"Not a mastermind? He directed someone to chase me!" Elsa practically shrieked as her patience began to fray.

"I grant you that George has the leadership skills for an operation like that, but as I say; I don't think he willingly did it," Weselton repeated in a higher pitched voice than his greeting had been. "In fact he's just told me he was forced into it."

Elsa found it incredibly hard at this point not to yell and freeze the desk, her fingertips prickling with the desire to let it all out. While she'd been gone it really did seem the entire city had gone mad.

"And who forced him?" She simply asked, falling into her breathing exercises to keep the lid on her bottled emotions.

The Mayor looked around himself suspiciously, glancing out of the closed door to make sure no one was listening.

"This is meant to be confidential information, but since you're a subject of the attack you may as well know," Weselton justified in a conspirational whisper. "George has just informed me, as he informed the police this morning, that the hostage situation was the work of that vigilante person."

"Excuse me?" Elsa cried slightly louder than she intended.

Weselton nodded. "Apparently, George was threatened to lead the abduction by this madman. Some terrorist with a hero complex. The plan was George and some of this man's lackeys would abduct you and your sister, so that the lunatic could rescue them. It's this vigilante we should be after."

Of course, Elsa did not believe a single word of this. If she had lived any other life, she might have bought it. But having been this vigilante she certainly knew Weselton's words could not be any further from the truth. What worried her about this spin, however, was that there would now be more investigations into the vigilante's presence which could threaten her position more than she thought it would. After speaking to Anna, she'd felt safe. Now, there was the slow acting fear of expectation.

"Obviously, the vigilante turned on poor old George, buying himself enough time to throw the scent off his trail," The Mayor went on, doing a nice job of being convinced. "Although I will not tolerate any of this caped crusader business they've been experiencing elsewhere. Believe me, dear, he will not get away with this."

"No, _he_ won't." Elsa concurred, though she differed on the matter of subject.

* * *

As evening began to draw in, Anna stepped out of the car Elsa had arranged to ferry her around to enter the Noble Tower. They had spoken very briefly around half-past five to finalise their plans for the evening. It had unfortunately turned out that Elsa was required to meet with one Dr Bulda on the outside of the city; meaning she would be late in reaching their meeting point. However, Anna decided to go to the tower anyway on her wish to break her tardy reputation and told Elsa she would wait just inside the lobby.

The security guards took a single look at her before letting her pass through, having been told in advance the younger Noble was likely to make an appearance. Really, the initial checks were a formality and it was too late in the day for the guards to care about someone who had quite a sizable amount of stock in the company.

When she walked to the nearest seating area, she was met with the idle waves of clocked-out employees on their way home; none of whom paid her any real attention Over the last few years she had periodic appearances, so most of the workforce was familiar with her presence. Besides, she was always the least famous Noble. That accolade belonged to her sister, as did many titles. She was just Anna, or so she felt.

Whilst she waited, her phone went off in time with a series of vibrations. Quickly pulling it from her skinny jeans, she glanced at the ID in hopes Elsa would soon be with her. Instead it was a text from Hans.

_Hey, u goin out wiv ur sis 2nite?_ It read simply, another in long line of exchanges between them.

Anna wasn't really sure what she would have done without Hans. After her parents had died and Elsa went to University, she had been left in a kind of emotional limbo. During childhood she'd missed out on the 'making friends' stage of social interaction, so when she finally came to be a socialite in her early teens she found herself awkward and quite nerdy; qualities which didn't sit well with other upper class adolescents. Even more so, she'd been branded with her sister as a loner, no matter how much she truthfully denied her supposedly cold nature. That was all Elsa.

Then she'd met Hans by accident when a mosh pit had nearly knocked her to the ground. His quick hand had shot out to save her from being trampled on and they'd been friends ever since. He too was socially unsure, as he'd been raised the youngest of thirteen in a strictly religious household. Out of the many stories he'd shared about growing up, the one which struck Anna the closest to home was how three of his brothers had ignored him completely for a number of years. They had eventually fallen into a routine of frequent nights out and nights in; when he would stay over at her apartment or she'd go out to visit him in his lakeside lodge. Once or twice they had even contemplated dating, but Anna had declined putting any labels on their relationship for the time being. She wanted friends first.

_Yeh m8_. Anna texted back. _Waitin in N Tower 4 her now. See ya tomoz x_

The lobby was more or less empty by this point, with only the stragglers still to leave. One man, who must have only just been on the older side of twenty, wandered by totally engrossed in his tablet. So engrossed that he didn't notice Anna's legs sticking out into the floor until gravity had already taken its toll.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry." Anna quickly apologised, getting up to help the man.

"Hey! Don't worry, I wasn't watching where I was going!" The pale man seemed too hyperactive to be ticked off by the accident, which Anna appreciated heavily. Twice before now she had done the same thing to men who were less than pleased with being introduced to the ground.

"Are you alright?" She asked, giggling slightly at his eccentric hairstyle and tanned nose, along with his unshakeably happy demeanour.

"Nothing's broken, which is good! Can't be injured on my first day!" He exclaimed, looking down to his tablet for any cracks.

"Oh, okay. Really sorry," Anna said, not really sure what to expect from him next. "Mr…?"

"Olaf, just call me Olaf." He enthusiastically introduced, shaking her hand with stick thin fingers.

"Alright. I'm Anna," She greeted. "Anna Noble."

Olaf seemed to have an extra-manic surge when she mentioned her name. "Elsa's sister?! No way!"

"You know Elsa?" Anna asked, genuinely surprised by the first name term.

"Oh yeah, we were in University together!" Olaf responded instantly, studying her features. "I can see the resemblance! She was always taking about you!"

That last sentence shocked Anna much more than any other revelation up to this point. For years she had been under the impression Elsa was indifferent to her existence. She thought her sister's disappearance the day before just proved that all the more. Now she felt all the more awful for her behaviour when Elsa came to check on her. Perhaps she had been all wrong about their relationship.

"Hey, I gotta go! Gonna miss my train!" Olaf resumed after a short silence, beginning to hurry off towards the exit. "Hopefully I'll see you again sometime! Nice meeting you!"

Anna shook herself out of her trance to see she was the only person left in the lobby, excluding security, now Olaf was leaving.

"You too!" She called after him as he disappeared around a corner.

It was as the pale man was leaving that a group of burly men marched towards the entrance from outside. They didn't really catch Anna's attention at first, not until a few of them reached into their long, black coats and pulled out tasers. No time was wasted as they quickly took down the limited security guards still on duty, grabbing the Noble girl's attention with the crackle of electricity.

She recognised the uniform, identical to the people who had held her hostage the day before. Their balaclavas made them all look like mirror images of one another, so that when Anna tried to count them she had difficulty as they moved in a disorganised group. As far as she could tell there were more than ten of them.

The last one to enter swung at the alarm button under the nearest security desk; making a klaxon wail throughout the building and the shutter automatically descend over every possible exit she had. Before she could react, she was sealed in.

Her phone went off again, instinctively calling her to look down at the message. It was from Hans.

_Hope u enjoy ur evening :D x_

* * *

**Next time; a confrontation. **

**Please review.**


	6. The Woman in Blue - Part Five

**So here we are: the grand reveal and first official face-off of superhero Elsa. Sorry it took slightly longer to post but the choreography was quite hard to figure out. Personally, I'm still not happy with the ending of this chapter, so some details may be edited in the not too distant future (although nothing too important). I'm also going to do a huge grammar check of everything so far, since I've realised how bad some of the mistakes are. Sorry about all that, I should really start reading things back.**

**A huge thank you to everyone who's reviewed or followed this story so far. Hope you continue to enjoy it.**

* * *

Elsa was first aware something was not right when Kai hit traffic four blocks away from the Noble Tower. It was nearing seven in the evening; a time of day when the bulk of commuters had left this area of the city to return to their homes and enjoy time off. In theory the streets should be virtually empty of all vehicles. But when they approached the stretch of road leading to the building bearing her name Kai had to screech to a sudden halt to avoid crashing into an unexpected queue of dark cars, all honking their horns.

"What's going on?" Elsa asked when she peered through the windshield at several hundred yards of stationary automobiles. She was antsy to reach her destination given her introduction to Dr Bulda had run longer than intended.

"I've no idea, Miss," Kai answered, stepping out of the car briefly to gaze down packed roads. "I think I can see a Swat van."

The very mention of this police unit sent Elsa's stomach plummeting. If the scene and the Swat team hadn't worried her enough, realising who should roughly be in the same place opened a barely scabbed over wound on her nerves.

"Wait here," She ordered as she unbuckled her belt and exited the vehicle. "If you can, turn the car around, then wait for me to get back."

Kai only had time to nod before Elsa sprinted off on adrenaline powered legs, carrying her out of earshot in under a minute. Mildly interested wanderers flashed by her as she raced across busy roads and skirted around the front of buildings to the source of the hold-up. What she found neither surprised her nor quieted her fears.

The roads which ran around the Noble Tower were cordoned off by bright orange barriers, where a small team of police officers did their best to keep the interested strangers at bay. It was a struggle to reach the front of the jostling crowd, but that didn't stop Elsa from spotting at least three swat vans and a fleet of black police cars parked haphazardly on the sidewalks, in the middle of the street or on top of the plaza outside the shuttered doors of the building. A small regiment of black-helmeted, bullet-proof uniformed men held a defensive position around the perimeter of the glass walls while lower ranked officers marched around them to peer through the tinted window panes. There was an unbearable amount of chatter hollering on her ears, although it didn't stop her from grabbing a nearby policewoman's attention when she yelled.

"You have to stay back, Miss." The woman coldly stated, reaching out to push Elsa back in amongst the nosy herd.

"No," Elsa argued back. "This is my building; I'm Elsa Noble. _Let me through_."

A hard tone from the young woman shattered the officer's power, and soon Elsa was half-jogging, half-walking to find the officer with the most medals on his lapel. Her fingers felt stiff under the silk gloves, dying to transfer the freezing forces beneath them to the outside world. It took much of her concentration to quell this urge.

"Are you in charge here?" She called to a man who seemed to be giving orders to several subordinates. At the very least, he had more decorations on his uniform than anyone she'd seen.

"Elsa Noble?" He asked back, appearing to recognise her for her expensive attire and arrow-like posture.

"Yes."

"Captain Latimer." He introduced, although Elsa really couldn't care less what he was called at this point. She had to _know _what was going on first.

"What's happening?" She yelled over the sudden roar of a helicopter which travelled over the area at a rather low altitude.

Latimer seemed to deliberate over the details, deciding if he could and should divulge everything he understood about the situation. To prompt him further, as well as cut out the torturous pauses, Elsa gave a glare so powerful it actually made the grown man shrink away from her slightly.

"A group of men have taken over your building," He quickly revealed. "They've activated the security sequences so we can't get in, although they haven't made any demands yet."

This much Elsa could have deduced by herself. There was something much more important she needed to know.

"Is my sister in there?" She asked; her toughened demeanour cracking with fright at the very idea.

Latimer took a pointed step back as he said; "We think so."

Ringing suddenly overrode everything Elsa could hear as she was certain she was about to have a panic-attack. It felt almost as if she had been dealt a mortal blow, staggering back like she'd been hit with a bullet. Her ribcage contracted into itself to choke her from the inside out while all her mind could focus on was the reality. Yesterday, she had been in a similar situation. Yesterday, she had had the chance to help. Today; she was locked outside whilst Anna was in _there_ with people who could kill her and not care. There was no conceivable point of entry, even if the windows were shot at. The only chance anyone had of breaking into the Tower now was to shatter the glass of the sixteenth floor where the structure was weaker. Even then, they would have to find Anna and a team of armed law enforcement were not entirely subtle about their presence.

"Sir!" A younger officer called from a nearby police car. "We have them on the radio!"

Swiftly, Latimer strode to the car to snatch the transceiver from his inferior. Elsa quietly followed behind him, wanting to sickeningly know every detail of the situation which could lead to her sister's demise.

"Am I speaking to the leader?" Latimer spat into the microphone over the hissing static.

_"Yes."_ A hazy voice on the other end replied.

"First of all, I want you to know you are surrounded on all sides," The police captain relayed, staring intently at the dark window of the Tower. "Secondly, any attempt at blackmail will not be tolerated"

_"Oh, I think it will,"_ The hated man said through the radio._ "We have Anna Noble with us, and if you don't give in to our demands then she is not meant for this world much longer."_

Elsa's hands tightened into fists, and she glared at the whole tower from top to bottom. Her ice blue eyes swept over the glacier-like structure with more rage than she had ever felt in her entire life. For once, this anger was not so much turned inwards on herself; but was focussed on everything she didn't like that she could spot. The gunmetal grey shutters of the lobby doors, the unnecessary security for fifteen floors, even the Westerguard Tower standing parallel next door. Only this morning she had looked down from her office onto its rooftop. Now she was an ant compared the impenetrable fortress.

The rooftop.

"What are your demands?" Latimer spitefully asked after a moment of consideration.

_"We want you to call Little Miss Big Boss of this company. Tell her to wire one billion dollars to our accounts by ten o'clock, or Ginger here will fall from the first window I can open,"_ The voice listed, dispassionate about the repercussions. _"Once we have the money, I want you to let us out of the front door. No one will shoot at us and we will release Red when we reach a safe, isolated distance."_

Elsa stayed just long enough to hear the conditions before she slipped away. She heard Latimer yell for her to come back, though she didn't pay him attention. The only thing she did was push her way back through the crowds and reach for her phone.

On mental autopilot, she dialled in the first number that came to mind. Olaf. Her phone rang four times before he answered.

"_Hello?"_ He said over the interference of noisy people on his side of the line. _"Elsa?"_

"Did you say you familiarised yourself with the computer system at the Tower?" She asked, locating Kai quickly enough to be pulling away at seven-fifteen. Two hours and forty-five minutes to act.

"_Yeah!"_ Olaf yelled enthusiastically, followed by a puzzled "_Why?"_

"Where are you?"

_"South Mount Station!"_ He said, again followed by _"Why?"_

Elsa swallowed, allowing her determination to fill her heart and head as Kai drove aimlessly through the hectic streets.

"Meet me at the Research Facility, the one from last night," She ordered. "Bring your A-game."

She didn't leave any room for debate as she abruptly hung up, directing her next instructions to Kai.

"Take me to the Mountains, to the corner of twentieth and thirteenth street." Elsa commanded, as her driver instantly turned a sharp bend to head in that direction.

There was only one more call she needed to make. Pabbie.

* * *

"You're going to do what now?!" Olaf asked, the first time Elsa had seen him speak without his standard incorrigible excitement since their finals. He actually had to take a seat when the madness of the idea made his legs unstable on the cold floor of the Research Facility.

She looked at him with such determination he didn't attempt asking a second time. Even though she outwardly appeared collected her internal voice of reason analysed every aspect of her rough plan again and again. The number of holes she could now find in her innumerable plans were too great to count. This had to be done exactly right, otherwise it would cost Anna her life. Elsa gritted her teeth when she realised that it would not be the first time her sister's life was threatened by a small mistake on her part.

"Look, all I need to know is can you hack the Westerguard's security and can you get into the CCTV in the Tower?" Elsa questioned, glancing to the far end of the corridor where Pabbie quickly ambled from with the supplies she needed.

"Well yes, I can," Olaf admitted, turning to the ancient computer system which was booting to the login screen. "But from this monstrosity it will take a while and even then I may as well just unlock the Noble building."

"No," She adamantly argued. "Let the police in, anything can happen. If it's just me, I can take them by surprise."

Pabbie slipped across the still frozen floor semi-gracefully, thrusting the items into her hands. When she had called him he had just been getting home. All it had taken to summon him here was an explanation of her half-baked strategy. He had, however, taken longer to reach the Facility and had arrived carrying recent purchases which included a high quality earpiece set to provide constant communication along with a curved parcel in tissue paper which hadn't been opened yet. For now, though, Elsa studied the blue suit Pabbie had brought from the storage platform.

"Elsa, are you sure about this?" He asked, torn between keeping her safe or risking both the Noble girls' lives.

"To be honest, not really," She answered, feeling the metallic fabric under her thumb. "You said this had military applications. Will it protect me from bullets?"

He regarded the stolen material thoughtfully for a few moments. Obviously the pressure of this hare-brained scheme worried him enough to make him forget his facts. Usually he could regurgitate detailed knowledge on a whim.

"It's bullet proof up to point blank range," The old man recalled, fingers shaking as he essentially recommended the suit for a use it was never meant for, at least not on Elsa. "It was originally intended to be lightweight protection for soldiers. However, the closer a shot is fired from the less of the impact it absorbs. You may come out of this with some very nasty bruises."

"Literally the last thing I'm worried about." Elsa commented, placing the suit on a nearby desk and starting to undo her blouse.

Olaf and Pabbie each gave her an alarmed look as she removed the outer layers of her clothes, before promptly turning their backs on the half-naked woman.

"What?" She asked, starting to pull the legs of the military textiles over her own, which was quickly followed by her professional outfit. "I'm not walking through the streets dressed like a disco ball."

"You could have done that somewhere else." Pabbie reprimanded, having averted his eyes until she had put her work clothes over the blue suit beneath.

"I have no time for modesty and judging by how this fits I'll be forgoing certain aspects of mystery for the evening." Elsa commented in return, feeling the garment stretch across her shoulders as she slung her silk shirt back on.

"Don't you also hate train station bathrooms?" Olaf innocently asked, turning his attention to the screen upon which a various array of codes raced by under his swift fingers.

Elsa ignored him, straightening her collar to disguise the fact there was another layer to her attire. There were unfortunately no mirrors around to make sure she looked presentable, although she reasoned it would appear her build was more solid than usual. She hoped no one would notice that.

"Done it!" Olaf cried from the computer terminal, having successfully managed to access the security footage.

All eyes were on the grainy feeds of the empty corridors within the Noble Tower. They were monochrome and slightly hazy due to the poor screen display but they were able to make out one or two of the kidnappers searching the building. Despite her best efforts, Elsa was unable to spot Anna at that point. A calendar in the corner of the desktop showed that the time was just coming around to eight o'clock.

"Okay, Olaf, you will be my eyes," Elsa informed him, picking up an earpiece from the set Pabbie had procured. "You have to tell me where I can find them and keep a watch on Anna when you see her. I'm relying on you."

Olaf swallowed thickly and nodded. Hopefully, when it was demanded of him, he could keep his focus.

"One more thing Elsa," Pabbie said as she prepared to leave. "Don't let them see who you really are."

He handed her the unopened parcel, which she promptly unwrapped with a _snapping _tear. Underneath the soft tissue was a slim blue domino mask, which glinted in the overhead light. Cool to the touch, it seemed to be made of a metal based polymer which rendered it extraordinarily hard. The curve of the top would reach to just cover her eyebrows whilst an elongated pyramid made enough room for the protection of her nose. Below the eyeholes the metal mask extended into two fang-like protrusions which would hide part of her lower face. Understanding what Pabbie meant, she wordlessly slipped it into her suit pocket.

"No one's ever seen who I really am." Elsa stated; marching down the exit corridor to the growing night on the surface.

* * *

Thankfully, Olaf had indeed been able to take down the security on the front entrance of the Westerguard building; allowing Elsa to quietly slip into the empty lobby of the rival company. A spiteful part of her mind registered that the Noble Tower was far more modern than the Westerguard's equivalent; which used a more grand décor to the point it looked like a hunting lodge. Despite the soft brown wood furnishings and the exquisite examples of antique waiting sofas, it was still a lobby. It did not take long for her to find the west stairwell which would deposit her on the correct side of the roof.

As she ascended each step, Elsa had time to finalise her mental checklist. Stretching between the floors, she became accustomed to the tug of the skin-tight suit underneath her clothes. Her primary objective was to get into the building and get Anna _out_, unharmed. To achieve that she would have to take down however many kidnappers there were guarding her sister. She supposed that Jones, who must have been leading the group again, was partially expecting her. There was really no reason for a team that large to keep one girl hostage. The most logical way to do this, therefore, was to keep them all apart and take them out one by one, starting with the largest.

It took her too long to reach the top floor, although she dare not risk being caught on camera in the elevator. Besides, she wanted Olaf's presence in the computer system to be kept to a minimum in this building. He was limited strictly to unlocking the doors.

By the time she reached the metal exit to the roof it was nearing nine o'clock. Getting to the top of a seventy floor building had cost her an hour of the time she had. She honestly didn't know how seriously Jones had been when he said he would throw Anna out of a window, but the thought made her stomach drop into an endless dark abyss so wasted no more time.

Once on the small mezzanine below the roof door, Elsa quickly pulled off the expensive fashion labels which masked the questionably acquired suit below. Folding the clothes, she left them in the corner of the stairwell; making sure to retrieve the earpiece and the mask.

"Olaf, can you hear me?" She asked once the communicative device was fixed onto the outer shell of her left ear. The mask sat surprisingly comfortably against her face, with only a few points pressing against her low forehead.

"_Loud and clear!_" The man responded, much like he was talking from directly beside her. "_Do you need the roof?"_

Before she could answer the electronic lock _clicked_ and the metal slab swung outwards, allowing Elsa to come face-to-face with a reflection of herself. One of the ventilation motors beside the door was bizarrely shiny, having been mostly shielded from the elements. It was so reflective that Elsa wondered whether Hans Westerguard employed someone to clean the heavy steel units, but it gave her a vision of her current image regardless.

The woman who mirrored Elsa was completely clad in a pale blue, skin tight bodysuit which refracted light from the tiny squares of fabric in what little light shone down from the Noble Tower next door. It had a high mandarin collar, providing maximum protection of the neck while it moved in such a way that it did not hinder her range of vision when she turned her head. Similarly, all the important points of articulation could twist into any natural position as if it wasn't actually there. Her sleeves reached completely down her arms; culminating in a tapered point on the back of her palm, which managed to remain in contact with her skin no matter which direction she turned her wrists. The boots, the only completely removable articles, were a matching colour although the metallic squares were replaced by a single sheet of thicker dark blue which wrapped around her shins and over the tops of her feet, whilst the soles were an ergonomic design which provided an air cushion capable of moulding to her foot shape but did not deny her any sensation from the ground she stood on. All the hems of the collar, sleeves and boots were a uniform white, with an additional stripe forming a shallow V-shape at waist height to function as a slim belt. If she was truly critical, it was slightly revealing.

When it came to the face, Elsa found herself unable to read her own expression as her eyebrows were completely covered by the upper edges of the mask. To the same effect, the points underneath her eyes fell down to be in line with the corners of her mouth; making her all but unrecognisable.

The only feature which remained remotely like the reserved, reluctant Elsa Noble was the bun her hair was customarily tied into. Reaching slowly for the clip which held her thick mane in place, she undid it enough to allow a heavy braid to fall away from the stylish do. Her stance relaxed when the reflected figure looked nothing like the CEO of a billion dollar company.

Yesterday, she had felt liberated for the first time in her life. Today she felt free.

Resuming her mission, Elsa looked over the gap between the two buildings. At this height the wind raced past her. On the ground below she could see the police officers and swat forces assembled. She wondered if they were holding their position or preparing to break in. Perhaps they were still negotiating with the kidnappers, maybe even trying to contact her. After hearing their demands she had turned her phone off to keep her focus on her self-appointed task as much as possible.

"_Elsa? Are you ready?"_ Olaf asked through the earpiece. "_Because I've got one of these guys in your office right now."_

Elsa looked down once more, thought of Anna, then lifted her ungloved hands over the chasm with all the strength she could muster. Ice began to grow on the ledge of the building; extending over the void to meet the other end which crawled back from the corner of her window on the Noble Tower.

"Let's surprise him, then." She said, ready for action.

* * *

That particular criminal, who was just making his way through the smoky glass door which bore the name _E. Noble, CEO_, was blissfully unaware of the carefully controlled frozen fury which was heading his way. Instead, he was focussed on the riches he expected to gain from the night's endeavour. With the share he would receive he need not work another day in his life, but retire to sunny Costa Rica where the hunt for him would not be as severe. Even if the pale witch who ran the company refused to hand over the requested sum the group still had enough time to reach their secondary objective.

Entering the sleek, barely decorated office, he took a moment to admire the view over the city from the panoramic window. Thinking of how a woman who had worked perhaps only one day in her life gained this faux-godly perspective over the tiny lives of the poor in the Mountains angered him greatly. Those people suffered every day, whilst people like her and that socialite brat downstairs had everything handed to them on a silver plate. How did they deserve wealth beyond his wildest dreams whilst many struggled? He couldn't wait to experience their world.

But first, he had one small task to do to ensure their money doubled from their benefactor.

"_Reg_," George Jones's militaristic tone squawked from the speaker in his cloth mask. "_Have you got the plans yet?"_

"Give me a second," Reg answered, looking to the emerging moon before turning to the computer on that ever so stylish desk of that 'Noble' woman. "I'm trying to savour this moment."

Savouring the moment, as it would later turn out, was a major mistake on his part. He was so busy internally gloating over the situation that he failed to notice the frost beginning to cling to the outline of the window.

The instructions he had been given were pretty simple. All the benefactor required of him was to turn Noble's computer on, plug in a specially prepared pen-drive and simply wait for the flickering red light to turn green on its casing. Nothing too difficult.

Once he had done so, Reg sat back in the CEO's plush chair. Passing the time with his inner thoughts, he decided he would have to buy a chair just like this once the gains of the evening were shared out. Perhaps, he mused, he would even be able to buy this one when the company inevitably went under. The money was practically in his pocket by this point.

"How's the prisoner?" Reg asked into his coat cuff when he had played out the imaginary satisfaction of ruining a business. He shivered as he spoke, wondering if the temperature this high up in the tower was meant to be this low.

"_Too talkative," _Jones replied, sounding disgruntled. "_Keeps saying we're messing with the wrong girl._"

A feminine voice murmured in the background, followed by what sounded like a quick slap. Reg didn't like the action, but was willing to compromise his morals for several million dollars.

"You should find the duct tape, keep her quiet," Reg suggested, swinging a little in the big chair as his teeth began chattering. "Hey, is it cold where you are?"

"_Are you high, Reg? It's freaking June_." Jones insulted, some audible laughter behind him.

Reg was about to reply, but when he exhaled he was mystified to find a pale cloud drift out his mouth. _That_ had definitely not been happening when he entered the office. Come to think of it, the temperature hadn't been this far down the Fahrenheit scale just five minutes ago. Had someone left a window open?

Now shaking from the core of his ribs, Reg glanced up for the first time since his arrival. Then he did a double take and his jaw dropped at the scene. The long window, which curved around to match the outside of the building in a crystal clear, barely visible sheet of glass was now coated entirely with brilliant white ice. It reached from top to bottom, right around all one-hundred-and-twenty degrees of cityscape panorama. An outside spotlight swept over the scene from the far end of the room to the wall behind the desk, projecting all the lines and blemishes within the ice onto the floor. However, what caught his attention most as the light passed him was the shadowy outline of a person standing just _outside_ the window.

The shock of seeing a person so close made Reg leap upwards from the chair. He yelped a moment later when, as if sensing his realisation, the figure smashed the window inwards. Although, his panic momentarily stopped when he saw that the person who froze the glass and broke their way in was a woman in a sparkling blue bodysuit. In fact he almost laughed, disbelieving she had been the cause of this phenomenon at all.

Then the woman lunged forward: proceeding to punch him in the jaw, grab his shoulders and ram a knee into his lower chest. Though the rapid succession of blows didn't quite stun him, it injured him enough to urge him to pull his gun from within his coat. But before he could aim and fire, the woman in blue stepped quickly to the side, laying a hand on the barrel of the weapon without pulling it from his grip. However Reg couldn't help but drop it when an inch of ice encased the grey metal.

She swiped at his face a second time, this right hook glancing him in the temple; making him stagger. The kidnapper clumsily attempted to hit her back, then missed completely when she ducked down. Kicking forwards, the masked woman's shoulder connected with the hinge of his waist and flipped him over her back like a sack of potatoes.

Reg crashed to the floor; dazed, confused and throbbing in areas as the wind washed over his hastily forming bruises. A white soled boot was balanced gently over his throat, ready to stamp down at a moment's notice.

"Where is Anna Noble?!" The victorious woman shouted, voice artificially deep but livid nonetheless.

He squirmed under her foot, trying to claw her other ankle. Unfortunately for him the heavy fabric proved resistant to his weak finger. She pressed down slightly harder, constricting his airway.

"Where is she?!" The mask scowled, releasing the pressure after a number of seconds had passed.

"In the first floor conference room!" Reg sobbed, feeling humiliated and rightly emasculated by the swift defeat.

"How many of you are there?!" Her disguised tones echoed with each bellowed word, deafening him into silence. "How many!"

"Twelve! Twelve of us!" He cried, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. "Oh God, please don't hurt me!"

His captor paused for a moment, lifted her boot off his neck and knelt down beside him.

"Has she been hurt?" She menacingly whispered. "Has that girl been harmed in any way?"

Reluctantly, he nodded as he recalled the slap Jones had dealt her.

Angered more by this admission, the blue woman grabbed his face. She forcefully lifted his head off the ground the slammed it back into the floor; rendering him unconscious.

* * *

"Olaf," Elsa said to the air. "Can you get a visual on the conference room?"

From her earpiece she could hear the man's scrabbling fingers drag across the keyboard. It was ten past nine.

"_Yeah!" _Was the token pleased response. "_She's at the far end with two of those guys guarding her. I think she's been handcuffed, and, from the looks of it, telling them off!"_

Elsa couldn't help but smile at the image. Anna had never been one to keep her opinion to herself or give up. She had personally had ten years of experience with the younger woman's methods. It seemed unlikely they would be given up now.

"Where are the nearest goons?" She asked, marching away from the recently installed open air of the office. Her first adversary probably wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"_Three floors under you, patrolling a corridor. Only the two of them!" _It appeared Olaf enjoyed watching her displays of the pinnacle physical, if not entirely natural, human condition. Even more so when it came to not very nice people.

Acting without fully registering, Elsa located the nearest emergency stairwell to continue her tactic of surprise. One down, eleven to go. Including Jones. She was absolutely adamant that scowling, moustachioed psychopath would not be bailed out again. He was going to rot in a cell for even _thinking_ of harming Anna. Whatever was left of him after she'd had her say, anyway.

The journey down was over far too quickly to plot out a proper offensive, so Elsa wandered the long halls to buy herself a couple more moments. It was, of course, difficult to know exactly where they were without calling on Olaf to shed some light on the situation.

"_They're just coming around the next corner." _Olaf revealed just as she was about to ask.

Being only a few metres from said corner, she instinctively dropped to the floor to spread a damp layer of ice across the thin carpets. As intended, when the black-coated brutes turned the corner they lost their footing; crashing to the floor with yells of surprise and pain.

Wasting no time; Elsa leapt on the nearest kidnapper. Using her momentum she pulled on the lapels of his jacket so that as she rolled into a landing on the frozen ground he was flung into the thin plaster before slumping down next to her. Groaning from the attack, the man didn't put up any particular fight as Elsa elbowed him in the lower stomach and then snapped her fist upwards to strike him in the nose. Using the other arm she was lying on to flip herself over, she smacked down into his skull with a direct punch to where his jaw would roughly be. She heard something _snap_ from the impact, which she hoped hadn't been a bone in her hand but a part of her adversary's face.

Whilst this series of strikes took place on the icy carpet, the second black-coat scrambled to his feet unsteadily. He limped a few steps away on a most likely sprained ankle to gasp into his sleeve.

"Jones!" He breathlessly yelled into the concealed microphone. "It's that ice-woman! She's in the building!"

Hearing the warning, Elsa twisted herself back onto her feet. Knowing her advantage had now been lost, with possibly dire consequences for Anna, she let out a cry of anger as she pounced on the wounded enemy.

Weaving her arms under his shoulders, she pulled him into a full-nelson hold. With her grip on his balaclava secure and most of his weight on his good leg; Elsa was able to force his forehead against the wall one, two, three times before she let go. For good measure she punched his ribs in a way she knew would crack at least two. It was unlikely he would be alerting the others for a while.

"_Elsa!" _Olaf called, this time drawling her name in concern. "_There're more of them coming your way!"_

"How many?" She grumbled, rubbing the sore part of her upper arm she had landed on.

There was a brief interval as Olaf attempted to definitively count up the black blurs on his monochrome screens.

"_Six, I think!" _He reported, worry slipping into his voice. "_Three of them are coming up the east staircase five floors down. The others are six floors below them."_

Elsa swore under her breath. During all those years she had been taught various martial arts, she had never faced any more than two opponents at once. This had been due mostly to her insistence on being kept isolated from people she may harm, but Shang had managed to persuade her into sparring with another of his students; Ping. For the record she had won, but at the cost of nearly revealing her powers. Although, back then she hadn't allowed herself to utilise the cursed abilities. Tonight they were her only advantage left. Apart from a bullet proof suit, but the reflective nature of the garment could yet be a hindrance when it came to evasion.

"Alright," Elsa finally said, thinking about her main objective of rescuing her sister. "Let's do it."

* * *

Knowing the remaining nine criminals would now be looking out for her; Elsa kept to the edges of the corridors as she made her way to intercept the three oncoming brutes. As far as she knew, they would be largely clueless to her location and so were more likely to spread out to track her down. If she could keep them far enough apart she would stand a greater chance of incapacitating them. Then again, having been alerted to her skills they may equally keep to a close group to avoid a swift beating.

Edging along the blank, grey walls, Elsa eventually met the doors to the stairs without encountering any of the expected foes. Taking this as a bad sign for her hopes; she pushed open the door into the quiet column that ran up the centre of the eastern wing of the building.

In contrast to the carpeted lengths of corridor she had just exited, the stairs were a universally cold concrete under a steady electric light which lit Elsa's suit like a high vision jacket. Thankfully her boots reduced the echo of her footfalls as she rapidly descended but there was no hiding her reflective nightmare of protective armour. Anyone might notice her under these steady beams from an extended distance.

Reaching the end of her second flight, a deafening _bang _suddenly broke the stifling silence. This sound was accompanied by a dull pain in her lower leg when a bullet collided with her shin. The appendage went numb, causing Elsa to stumble slightly and grab the bannister for support. A quick inspection revealed no damage, not even a smudge mark on the metallic squares although the ache proved she was struck. Pabbie had been right; the suit would only absorb so much of the impact.

Looking down, Elsa spotted the source of the gunshot; one black coat, the one who had fired at her, stayed in position two floors below whilst the remaining pair sprinted up the space between them. He lined her up in the sights of his handgun, looking back at her with inexpressive eyes barely visible under the balaclava. His second shot glanced off the metal railings beside her face.

Regaining her wits, she quickly froze the open spaces between the bars protecting her. Three more shots cracked into the ice, but none of them shattered the structure.

This gave her the opportunity to gather her thoughts into a conceivable strategy. Olaf's squeak of anticipation reminded her that more gunmen were on the way up. Therefore, she needed to get out of the line of fire and limit her foes' ability to surround her. If she remembered the layout of the Noble Tower correctly, this floor was dedicated to the higher end research headed by Pabbie. The kind of research which required complete containment and the opportunity to destroy any lethal experiments.

A third set of marching footsteps echoed with the other two, which were nearing her position. Most likely, the shooter had deserted his post to join his companions. Taking a chance, Elsa stood from her hiding spot to fling a chilling cloud onto the stairs in front of the man who had attempted to injure her. His foot fell on the icy patch. Then his boot slid backwards as he lifted his other leg. Unsurprisingly, he fell forwards straight onto his face. A sickening _crack _was audible from Elsa's position and for a moment she felt regretful for the damage she had dealt him. But for what he was trying to do to her remaining family; she didn't care anymore.

As this one fell, the remaining two black-coats of this group appeared at the base of the nearest set of stairs. Having witnessed her supernatural takedown of their fellow conspirator, they drew their weapons. Firing repeatedly; Elsa had no chance to find protection but had to stumble out of the line of fire.

Diving out of the stairwell, Elsa fell into a maze of glass-walled laboratories. Thankfully her suit continued to protect her from bullets which smacked against her upper body, however the first shot was certain to leave a large bruise on her outer shin. Unfortunately, her pursuers continued to follow her with their guns blazing.

She had to scramble along the floor under the cover of a hastily formed fog to avoid more harmful blasts. On no less than four occasions the tiled floors kicked up dust threateningly close to her head. Five times a bullet collided with her shoulders, once in her stomach and thrice a pellet caught her hip. By the time the black-coats guns _clicked _pathetically, signifying their barrels were empty and their onslaughts were over the moment.

Despite being shaken and hurting across her body, Elsa took her chance to contort her body under the fog to fling a few sleek icicles at their legs. Neither of them saw the sharp projectiles coming; one was caught in ankle as he attempted to reload while the other was knocked off-balance momentarily by his tumbling comrade. He, however, quickly regained his footing to wield his handgun dangerously in her general direction. This was her cue to hit him back.

As she rolled to the tinted dark glass the elevators _dinged_ from a nearby location. Evidently her task was about to become much more difficult, so Elsa sprang towards the one currently trying to find his aim and roundhouse kicked the gun of his hand then reverse-punched him just above his right eye. Since it was statistically likely he was right handed, she grabbed the forearm and kicked his foot out from underneath him whilst he was still stunned.

More gunshots ricocheted from further down the maze, making opaque webs appear in the reinforced glass marking out the individual labs. Elsa ducked behind the man she was holding, twisting his arm painfully behind him so that he couldn't move away from her. As planned, when the next three black-coats turned the corner they fired on their own teammate. Shots pierced each of his shoulders and clipped the edge of his stomach before they realised their mistakes.

When they lowered their weapons, Elsa let go of her human shield (whom she actually hoped had not been harmed too much) and fired two streams of ice at the closest opponent. Before he could get away or fire at her again he found his feet and gun arm had been frozen into place. The two men behind him could not get around him in the confines of the corridor.

Taking a running start, she vaulted onto the first man's shoulders and kicked off the wall. Extending a leg as her trajectory swung around the anchored black-coat, Elsa was able to connect her foot with his back-up's temple; making him crumble to the floor from the sheer force. However, the last of the six men managed to catch her leg and throw her down to the ground. It seemed he had at least basic training in some form of martial arts.

He extended his pistol to be on a level aim with her forehead, but she was able to cut his hand with a messily formed pile of ice chips which forced him to release his hold. Elsa then grabbed his wrist and pulled herself up, dragging him down in transit. Unfortunately, the black-coat was able to push her back into the anchored man, who reached with his free hand to hold her forearm in a vice grip. She swept her free arm underneath his; bending his elbow back to a sickening angle which made him release her when he cried at his broken bone.

Turning back, Elsa was met with a fist to the face as the last black-coat had regained his feet. The rim of the mask cut into her forehead, spilling some of her blood as a stinging line was sliced just above her eyebrows. Although, it seemed the metal hurt the black-coat more as two of his knuckles were now misshapen. Regardless to this fact he did not stop his assault, though he favoured his left hand and stayed away from her head.

Elsa took advantage of this fact and kept to his right side, where she delivered a quick succession of punches to his ribcage. His attempts to stumble around to face her remained unsuccessful, but when he lunged with an almost magically retrieved taser towards her he managed to shock her underarm. She screamed as her muscles contracted for an agonizing few moments, giving her opponent the chance to shove her against the glass walls.

Unwilling to go near him again for the time being and unable to lift one arm for random muscle spasms, Elsa felt along the wall for the nearest doorway. The black-coat continued to lunge at her with the _crackling_ weapon, though mercifully was unable to pin her down again.

When she felt the air-sealed door; Elsa shouldered her way through into a small entrance cubicle equipped with a series of unnerving black pipes ready to deposit deadly heat into the space. Her arm began to feel lighter as she shuffled along the tiles, dispelling the residual charge from her body even though the pain still clung to her nerves. She forced herself through the second entrance to the main lab, waiting for her adversary to step into the cubicle after her. When he finally did, she punched the emergency alarm just beyond the glass panel.

Flames erupted into life, with the system thinking there was a harmful substance inside the cubicle that required complete annihilation but instead only spread the burning tongues onto the black-coats sleeve. He immediately began trying to pat the fire down to nothing, yelling in fear as he barged past Elsa into the lab. His shrieks were laughably high-pitched, but all she focussed on was the taser he had dropped beside her.

Picking it up, Elsa strode into his path and grabbed his flaming wrist. The fire immediately died under the extreme cold she placed on the dark coat. He sighed in relief, but gave a staggered screech when she forced the taser into his stomach; rendering him unconscious, finally.

Elsa shakily relaxed once she accounted for every fallen man in the immediate area. She felt more battered than she had ever done in her life, although nothing was broken as far as she could tell. There were almost certainly going to be quite heavy bruises forming across her body in the next few hours. Explaining the cut on her forehead was going to be interesting come work tomorrow, but then she supposed that the building would be closed for investigations over the next few days.

"That's nine," She sighed, stretching her tight arm as she walked back into the stairwell. "Where are the last three?"

"_Well_," Olaf reluctantly answered. "_While you took all those guys out Jones' moved Anna."_

"Where to?" Elsa demanded, ears pricking.

"_Your office._"

Her office. Her office, at least four floors above her. Her office, where there was currently no window. Jones' threat to drop Anna from a height was suddenly all the more real. Worse; the remaining kidnappers had a potential exit across the bridge she had formed to get _into_ the building. Those bastards could kill her sister and still get away.

"I am going to murder them." Elsa stated, frost creeping along the bannisters while she began marching up the stairs on sore legs.

* * *

Hands stuck behind her back, Anna was pushed into Elsa's office to face the cold wind of this altitude. Behind her, George Jones, whom she recognised by voice now, held the heavy gun pointed at her spine; ready to shoot her down at a moment's notice.

"It is not nice to push people!" She angrily yelled, turning back on her captor.

"Shut it, ginge!" Jones bellowed back at her in his army voice. "You've caused us more than enough trouble without your constant whining!"

"Excuse me?" Anna asked back, undeterred by her situation. "_I've _caused _you _trouble? In my handcuffs?"

She caught sight of the knocked out black-coat on the floor, who had a nasty footprint marked into his neck and a few specks of blood seeping through the balaclava. Shards of glass littered the entire floor, interspersed with little pools of water which Anna did not want to slip on. There had obviously been a struggle in this room recently that had not favoured a member of Jones' crew.

"That freaking ice-woman's showed up again to save your hide," Jones grumbled, trudging to the askew desk and pulling out a pen drive from Elsa's desktop. "And I am not going to lose all that money again."

"But you can't get away, not now," Anna reasoned, trying to take subtle steps away from her captor. "They'll know who you are. Even if you kill me, it won't take them long to figure it out. You tried this _yesterday_. And my sister won't let you get away with this. She'll hunt you down."

Jones let out a barking, mocking laugh when she said this. He watched her with those unfeeling eyes like a shark pursuing its prey.

"You think your sister cares about you?" He hurtfully questioned. "This is the same sister who saved her own skin yesterday rather than come back for you? The one who hid in some European slum for four years? This 'Ella Noble' who wouldn't come back for her own parent's funeral!"

"No!" Anna hollered back. "The sister who cares about me. She's not perfect, but I know she wouldn't let any harm come to me because, if I had to, I would protect her with everything I have. And it's _Elsa_."

It looked like Jones was about to retort when a banging came from just beyond the office door. Before they had forced their way in, the other two black-coats had been left to guard the room in case this mysterious hero came for them. Now, the frostbitten smoked glass smashed when one kidnapper was flung through it. He fell with a groan, one shoulder obviously dislocated. When Anna peaked through the entrance she saw that his co-conspirator was slumped against the doorframe of the boardroom, encased in ice.

However, what captured both hers and Jones' attention was the woman dressed in blue standing with the light blaring behind her. The silhouette spread across Anna, seemingly shielding her from Jones' spiteful glare. From where she was standing, the Noble girl couldn't make out any details of her apparent saviour; excluding the shiny refraction from the suit she wore and the thick braid which fell over her shoulder. Nevertheless, there was something familiar about the figure, although Anna put it down to the fact the same person had rescued her the day before.

Taking stock of the situation, the figure flung a row of angled icicles to the floor; fencing Jones into the small area around the desk before turning to Anna.

"Get out of here," The deep voice commanded, pointing towards the ice bridge extending from the corner of the broken window and onto the neighbouring Westerguard roof. "Now."

Anna didn't need to be told twice, but as she carefully sprinted across the littered floor she spared her heroine a grateful glance.

The bridge was slippery and not terribly wide, but she took it slowly enough to keep her balance. Behind her she could hear Jones swear heavily into the night and she could feel the protective eyes of the woman in blue. However, she didn't dare look back, lest she also glance down the seventy-one storeys to the ground.

Back in the office, Elsa approached the icicle fence which held Jones in a confined space. The despised man stared daggers into her battered form, but he looked satisfied despite his loses. She couldn't understand this. He had lost. He was going to prison, in all likelihood. There was no way the Mayor could protect him this time.

"I was told you might show up." Jones said once his anger had subsided.

Elsa didn't let her curiosity get the better of her. Anna was out of the building, she had done what she wanted to achieve. There was no reason for this to continue.

"Well, I'm glad I did," Elsa replied in her masked voice. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Anna reach the Westerguard building. "Olaf, make sure she gets in and then unlock the Noble Tower."

"_Hell yes!" _Olaf obeyed from the Research Facility.

She made to follow Anna when Jones _clicked _the safety off his gun. The defeated man aimed the weapon at her head, steely determination etched on his face. His discarded balaclava lay amongst the shards of glass. At a moment's notice he might kill her. But Elsa didn't blink.

"I'll do it." He threatened, jabbing the air with the barrel.

"You said the same thing yesterday," She pointed out. "I seem to recall you didn't actually hit anyone."

This only made him fume all the more, face burning red under his muttonchops.

"You tried to hurt someone very dear to me," Elsa lowly continued, taking a few steps towards the ice bridge. The glass _crunched_ under her boots. "I could kill you, right now, just as easily as you'd shoot me. But I'm not going to. You don't quite deserve that."

His finger twitched menacingly, about to fire the bullet. As he did, however, a low icicle grew several feet taller; skewering his gun hand and causing him to yowl in pain as blood spurted from his fingers. The frozen barricade parted as Elsa stepped through them, inspecting her handiwork with a sickened fascination. Years, even mere hours, ago she would have never willingly done anything close to that destructive. Today, her powers had proven useful. And she was confused by how she felt about the evening.

"Don't you ever go near the Nobles again!" Elsa cried, willing the icicle to drive itself through Jones' hand slightly more.

He openly wept as she calmly walked out of the building.

* * *

On the plaza outside the Noble Tower, Anna sat in the back of an ambulance. The handcuffs had been chiselled off and she was wrapped in a comforting, orange blanket with an icepack held against her black-and-blue eye. Police officers and medics hurried around her; racing into the office tower in waves to assess the remarkable situation. From what she had been fleetingly told, it sounded like the vigilante had methodically taken down every black coated loon who had tried to hold her for one billion dollars, a fact which drove the assembled community forces wild with the apparent injustice of the events. But it was past ten now and if the woman hadn't done what she did, Anna would have been a discoloured puddle on this very plaza. She shivered at the thought.

Once she'd been checked over, Anna had been more or less left to herself. A vain part of the mind was arguing more attention should have been given to her than a blanket and pat on the back, but she understood that she was no longer a priority. Until Elsa appeared from amongst the crowd.

"Oh my God! Anna! Are you okay?" Elsa fearfully asked, looking at her sister's wound and cupping her cheeks affectionately.

Before Anna could respond, she was pulled into the tightest hug she had ever received. After the regularly expected period of embrace had elapsed, she registered the fact it was _Elsa _holding onto her as if for dear life. Elsa, who had spent her teenage years hiding from everyone and had never willingly initiated contact with anyone, as far as she knew. It took her a few moments, but Anna eventually returned the hug with the largest of smiles plastered across her face. Even though she had to go through hell to be at this point, she had her sister.

"I'm fine! Don't worry, I just got a whack, it's nothing," Anna answered, wincing when the warm air hit her bruise. "What happened to you?"

When she observed Elsa's clothes, they were surprisingly more askew than the typically presentable standard her sister maintained. Her blouse was largely crumpled, with deep wrinkles in the fabric which were barely hidden by her dust covered suit jacket and trousers which had probably seen better days. The shoes contrasted greatly with the grey business attire; as they were blue and made of a material she'd never seen before. Although, Anna's comment was mostly directed to the long, scabbed over cut running across the left side of Elsa's brow. It was partially hidden by the customary bangs of Elsa's trademark hairstyle, but it was marked out like crayon on a blank canvas.

"What? Oh," Elsa said, feeling the wound when they finally parted. "I-I was terrified I'd lose you. I think I had one of the worst panic attacks of my life."

Anna nodded, not wanting to pry into Elsa's privacy. They smiled at each other, both aware of the tumultuous nature of their relationship. Maybe, one day, they would be normal sisters again; away from the world of business and threats to their little family, and recover everything they had lost growing up.

"Are you being kept for anything, or do you think we could go somewhere else?" Elsa tentatively asked, eyeing the surrounding medics nervously.

"Erm, I don't think so," Anna answered, slowly removing the blanket and leaving it on the ambulance step. "If you don't mind, I really want to go home and have a drink."

"Yes, that's fine," Elsa quickly assured, straightening her gloves. "Er, the mansion or your apartment?"

"I really don't mind, just somewhere that's not here." Her sister answered, taking her hand to lead her away from the scene.

As they were weaving back through the throngs of officials, Elsa was careful not to make eye contact with any of the police for fear they may arrest her. None of them could know it was her in the tower, although without the mask her fears of discovery slowly set in again. But no one seemed to notice them depart the site, apart from a very divisive individual who beckoned for them to follow him when they reached the barriers.

"Good Lord. Anna, are you alright?" Hans Westerguard asked as he led the Noble women down a side street to a waiting car. "The police wouldn't answer anything, since I wasn't a family member."

"I'm fine," Anna insisted, relaxing into the leather seats between her friend and her sister. "Can you take us home?"

"Of course, of course," He responded, giving Elsa a kind smile. "Jerry, you know the way."

Despite her satisfaction for rescuing Anna, Elsa couldn't help but feel disappointed that after all her efforts the side-burned snake had still wormed his way into her life again. After all, what had he done for Anna in the wake of her kidnapping?

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review.**


	7. The Woman in Blue - Part Six

**Here we are: post-heroic debut. Hope it reads well, I haven't spent as long on this chapter due to mocks. Apologies in advance for any grammatical errors, but I wanted to reach my aim of a weekend update before the dreaded Monday comes around. **

**Also, I don't suppose any of my wonderful readers happen to be of the arty variety? I can't draw for diddly squat, so I was hoping some kind person might design a cover for this story? Obviously I can't pay anyone for their efforts (since Fanfiction doesn't allow monetary exchanges and I'm a student) but their work will be proudly displayed beside this story for all future updates. If you're interested please PM me.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this shortish instalment and many thanks to all who have reviewed and followed!**

* * *

The midday sun was indescribably different as Elsa walked through the Mountains. It had been summer in Arendelle for a few weeks now, and the weather on the three days she had been back were visibly the same as today. Nevertheless, there was still a small change. Something so tiny it was hardly noticeable. Naming said change was even more difficult.

Somehow, it felt like the very air around Elsa was new. Fresh. Clean. Of course, the depressed streets were still grey and dirty and neglected, but with every fibre of her being Elsa sensed what could only be really described as potential. There was a new potential in the City; one which no one saw or was even really aware of. Only the haphazardly dressed millionaire who crossed the potholed excuse for a road could taste it.

Potential, or the quick breakfast Anna had made her using the surprisingly small supplies her sister kept in the apartment. While the younger woman had the best of intentions, Elsa wasn't particularly certain left-over Thai food met all the required food groups in an adult breakfast. Additionally, the orange juice had felt slightly more acidic than it should have done. Evidently at age nineteen Anna Noble had not entirely grasped self-support or balanced diets, although Elsa couldn't blame her. A lavish breakfast was not something a threatened woman would regard as a priority.

When they had finally reached Anna's apartment, after a rather hasty farewell to a certain business rival, fatigue had triumphed them quite quickly. Indeed, if it hadn't been for a her elder sister's presence Anna would have simply fallen asleep in the small ball she had rolled herself into on the sofa. But Elsa made sure to take care of her; supplying the barely adult girl with a coffee to keep her awake long enough for a proper nightly routine. Despite her intrigue, Elsa had not pried too far into how Anna felt about the evening. However, her sister's appreciation of her presence was not misread.

Once fully distressed, Anna wasted no time in offering Elsa the spare room for the night. It was barely a secret that the redhead had been shaken by the daily abductions and was subsequently, though not vocally, afraid of being left alone overnight. There had only been a slight hesitation on Elsa's part, but she eventually rang Gerda and gave the household staff the night off since no service would be required in the empty manor.

Of course, when she got the chance Elsa had sprinted into the bathroom to peel off the blue bodysuit underneath her clothes. Upon inspection the garment had served its purpose well; there were no cuts on her torso nor were there bullet holes. Although, her fears of bruises was confirmed under the warm light of the spacious washroom. Reflected in the mirror were a plethora of dark purple patches on otherwise flawless skin. They started in a few coin-sized spots across her collarbones before revealing a quite angry smudge across her left upper arm, where she had landed heavily a few times during her fight. The marks lessened in severity under her breasts and down her stomach, having received glancing hits from varying distances, but the field of navy blue under her right knee shone brightly. This particular trophy was still sore to walk on, but hadn't swelled as much as it could have. Long ago Elsa had realised the cold in her bloodstream acted as a natural ice-pack and so injuries had never been very nasty for her.

Regardless of this biological idiosyncrasy, once out of the public eye and into the long corridors of the former North Mount Station Elsa moved much of her weight off the throbbing muscles. She hadn't really wanted to walk here but it seemed pointless to call Kai in for the sake of a few blocks. Besides, the driver had already ferried her to this location once in the last twenty-four hours. If he made frequent trips to the kicked-down boards of the entrance he may start to question her activities.

When she finally reached the control room of the facility she was barely surprised to find Pabbie already sat at one of the desks. It did catch her unawares that Olaf was also seated in the same chair as last night, working furiously at the computer.

"Did you even go home last night?" Elsa curiously asked, leaning against the nearest work bench and laying out the plastic bag. The blue suit sparkled slightly from the opening.

Pabbie merely watched her, gave a tired yawn, then picked up a newspaper which had been sat beside him. He held up the front cover, which read in bold letter _Kidnappers Kicked Down By Frosty Foe_. Underneath this was an amateur photograph of the ice bridge Elsa had built between the Westerguard and Noble Towers, which was defrosting slowly in the June sun. Evidently the bystanders had eventually noticed her improvised path the night before.

"Congratulations," The old man said, sounding rather conflicted. "You put four men in hospital."

Elsa hadn't been expecting that news. She knew she had hurt all twelve of her adversaries, with the icicle through Jones' hand standing out in her memory, but _four _men? Regret and shame began to claw at her a she digested the report.

"What were their injuries?" Was her tentative inquiry, feeling paradoxically sheepish over her rescue attempt.

"One skewered palm," Pabbie read from the continued article a few pages into the paper. "A fractured skull, frostbitten legs and, although I dare not think how, third-degree burns to a man's forearm."

"Oh! I know how Elsa did that!" Olaf piped up, swivelling away from the hazy monitor. "It was really very cool!"

"No! Olaf, it wasn't," Elsa loudly disagreed, making both men jump. "Last night was everything I never wanted to do. If my parents knew what I did… Oh God."

The woman nearly collapsed from the onslaught of antonymic feelings. On the one hand, she had saved Anna. That had been her primary objective the entire night. But she had actually used her powers to _wound _ people. At the time it had hardly bothered her, she was too focussed on not being shot and stopping the black coats. Now that she knew the costs she didn't think she could live with the contravention of her morals.

When she stumbled, Olaf was immediately by her side while Pabbie pulled himself to his feet. The next few moments were spent encouraging Elsa to breathe fully, rather than the panicked hyperventilation she was about to fall into. It was Olaf who eventually got her completely calm by giving her the only thing he knew worked; a warm hug.

"Elsa, I didn't mean it harshly," Pabbie apologised, taking her hand very carefully as she composed herself. "What you did last night would have made your parents extraordinarily proud. You put yourself at risk and the injuries those bastards sustained are only a fraction of what I would have dealt them. Yes, you have never wished for your powers, but you used them expertly enough to save Anna; which I believe is what you wanted."

Elsa remained silent for a few moments, wondering what the next steps were. Thankfully Olaf supplied further information to set her mind at rest.

"I've deleted any and all footage of you from last night across the city. Nothing exists of superhero you." He assured, motioning as the old monitor which showed rows upon rows of code.

"I'm not a superhero," Elsa defensively stated, reaching for her blue disguise and throwing it down the corridor. "This was a one-time thing. I'm not an 'Archer' or a 'Rider'."

Pabbie stepped back from her, pacing the slowly thawing floor while deep in thought. He looked between Elsa and the domino mask which had clattered onto the ground when thrown.

"No, you're not Flynn Rider. As far as I know he gets by on good luck," Pabbie agreed, slowly bending down to retrieve the blood-marked mask. "And the Archer, well her name represents her skill. But you _have a gift_, Elsa. It's beautiful and it's dangerous. It is completely up to you what you do with it, although as much as I don't want to I have to urge you on my opinion."

He paused, looking extremely thoughtful. His eyes spoke of one scenario but his scowl described another idea. The way he looked at the abandoned Research Facility only made Elsa wonder what he _truly_ intended.

"You saw how the police have very little motive to protect or serve. They were unwilling to go in after Anna until she had actually appeared at the ambulance. Many of the criminals they arrest, whether petty or major infractions, are released due to lacking evidence or Weselton protects them," The extent of Arendelle Police's limited efforts shocked Elsa when Pabbie described them. It couldn't actually be _that_ ineffective. "So a part of me thinks you should… continue stopping crime. The way you immobilised Jones meant the Mayor couldn't deny his presence, and if you did more of that you might do a world of good for the city."

Elsa considered the idea for a few moments. Eventually, she disregarded it as a logistical nightmare. She was the _CEO _of a company. She couldn't disappear for regular crime fighting. There was research to administrate and quarterly profits to adhere to, matters she didn't feel comfortable leaving to Goddard or Pabbie. It was not a position she could neglect, especially if she could use her influence in the city to lobby for stricter police work.

"I think you'd be really good at it!" Olaf opined, actually jumping up and down at the thought of such an endeavour. "We could be a crime-fighting team! Although I'd probably keep watch from here…"

Regardless of her logical mind, some part of Elsa was still thrilled by the idea. The feeling was arguably stupid, her throbbing leg reminding her of the physical demands. But, as she realised, it was her vigilante guise which had brought her closer to Anna. A silly reason to some, though her actions would make the city safer for her sister and her few friends, not to mention all the downtrodden who were at risk every day.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. When she took it out she found an invitation from Anna to go a club in the evening, apparently to relax.

"I'll think about it." Elsa admitted, as she got up to leave.

Pabbie and Olaf only watched as she exited the tunnels. She looked back at least thrice before she disappeared entirely.

* * *

In black-and-white, projected onto a blank wall, the vigilante burst through Elsa Noble's frozen office window. The refractive figure swiftly pounded the dark, man-shaped character attempting to defend himself before she tossed over her shoulder. A brief moment of torture followed, succeeded by a silent conversation. Unfortunately, the CCTV footage did not allow for audio, although it was obvious the sparkling warrior was speaking with an accomplice who was elsewhere. She walked out of the room, then the picture wobbled as an hour passed in a second. Anna Noble was now in standing awkwardly amidst the glass and melted ice, while Jones retrieved the pen drive from the desktop. Soon after the vigilante reappeared, flicking a field of icicles to encase the former soldier while the childish adult escaped. After injuring Jones, the vigilante also walked out. There was another flicker, and the clip began again from the moment the cold window shattered.

Analysing every little detail on the continuous loop, Duke Weselton could only say he was impressed by the skill the pseudo-hero showed. Whatever she was, she had been trained for a long time. She had been a long time coming and threatened the plans he had formed with his associate. Weselton shivered as he felt the ever watchful eyes on him from an undisclosed source. He hated the sneaking nature of the ally.

"Are you sure she can be dealt with?" Weselton asked the silent study, not daring to avert his eyes from the recovered film.

There was a slight rustle from the thick curtains which blocked out the evening light and made the finely furnished room unbearably hot. It had only been ten minutes, yet already Weselton could feel the toupee sliding on his sweaty scalp.

"Yes," The electronically deep voice replied from the opposite side of the study. "She's barely aware of the web we are weaving. If she turns up again, we'll let her run around. We'll keep her distracted. Should she become _too_ involved then _I_ will deal with her. Make sure it doesn't get to that point."

Weselton nodded readily, aware of what his ally was capable of. "I'll name her a public enemy in the morning. Every police officer will be directed against her, which should also give us some more freedom to carry on our agenda."

The hidden man did not reply, as soon after there was a cautious knock as the mahogany door. Weselton paused, making sure he had consent, before calling the guest in. Without the butler, who had been sent home early, as an escort George Jones limped into the home office. His eyes were surrounded by the familiar redness of mace and his right hand was bulky with several layers of blood-stained bandages protecting his wounded palm. Overall, with his crumpled black clothes and now patchy mutton chops, he looked like the pathetic excuse for a conspirator he was.

"Ah, George," Weselton greeted. He didn't offer a seat. "I take it Latimer dropped you here without incident?"

"After leaving me in a jail cell all night," Jones spat, voice hoarser than it should be. "The pig even beat me a few times to convince the other prisoners I was genuinely arrested."

"You _are _genuinely arrested!" Weselton corrected. "All you had to do was hold the little bitch long enough to bankrupt the Noble Corporation, and you were beaten by a walking disco ball, twice!"

Jones flinched in the gloom, feeling the wrath of someone who he had regarded as a friend just yesterday.

"Do you see what I see?" The Mayor interrogated, pointing to the blaring monochrome video of the vigilante's confrontation with Jones. "You had the opportunity to kill the iridescent cow, and you hesitated!"

Flinching when he saw his past self stabbed through the hand, Jones vainly attempted to defend his loss. "You don't understand! That woman wasn't using technology, the ice _came out of her hands_! How was I supposed to stop that?"

"With bullets." Weselton coldly pointed out. "Did you at least get the data out?"

Jones paused momentarily, then fumbled through his pockets with his good hand. Eventually, he pulled out the sleek pen drive, which he offered as the token of peace it would never be. Weselton snatched it from him, placing it on the desk an evaluative glare.

"May I- May I go then?" Jones weakly asked, well aware of the dangerous position he stood in.

The Mayor paused, almost regretfully, before replying. "You know that's not my decision. You failed him, twice. I don't think he's going to be very forgiving."

The only noise Jones could make at that point was a small groan. He tried to run back to the study door, but was halted when the lights blasted on and revealed his judge, jury and executioner.

Standing in an elaborate suit of cream, navy and purple with an ornate lightweight helmet which covered his entire head stood the feared assassin. With a single swipe of his ceremonial Roman sword, he split Jones' chest with minimal blood marking the blade. Jones collapsed in a red and black heap at his feet with a small grunt of pain. Dead.

The assailant calmly bowed his head to look at the fallen man. Then he wiped the sword clean on the black coat and sheathed it in a fluid motion. Weselton turned visibly green, having been distressed by the casual murder of a trusted advisor. He silently wondered whether he was in too deep.

"I wish you hadn't done that." The Mayor quietly voiced, pushing the desk chair slightly further away from his 'ally'.

Turning to face Weselton, the armoured man menacingly crossed his arms behind his back in faux-patience.

"I'll pay to have the carpet stains removed." He said, before marching out of the study.

* * *

**So that's the first little episode of our superhero's adventures. Hope you've all enjoyed it thus far. More to come soon.**

**Please review.**


	8. The Voodoo Plot - Part One

**Onwards, to a new 'episode' of sorts! Hope it reads well: the ending, in my opinion, is a bit rushed so it may be edited later on (no details will change, literally just so it flows better).**

**Huge thank you to all the readers who have stayed with me so far, nothing brighten my day like reading your reviews. **

**WARNING: Mentions of drug abuse (nothing extreme, actually rather benign but could be disturbing for some) and alcohol (also very light).**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own**_** Frozen**_** or **_**The Princess and the Frog**_**. To save time, let's just assume everything belongs to Disney except original characters.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Three weeks. Twenty-one days since the first appearance of the Arendelle Vigilante. Despite everything else that had happened the so-called terrorist or people's protector was still newsworthy. The other events, including the break-out of convict brothers in Corona, the controversial negotiations between the Noble Corporation and Westerguard Industries, and the impending visit of a European royal, seemed to take a back seat to this local fascination. It seemed, to Elsa Noble, utterly pointless. The woman in blue had only made one semi-public appearance.

Sitting in the back seat of her car, riding through the fading light of July, Elsa read the daily newspaper several times. Obviously it had been a slow week; she was fairly certain this particular article was recycled from one the week before. This was only to be expected. Thanks to Olaf's intervention and Pabbie's precautions no new evidence had come to light, so the short added passage which did not recount the events but gave speculation was loose enough to keep the heat off Elsa for the foreseeable future.

_Unfortunately, witness accounts have been unable to render any further details. Many of the arrested conspirators have unanimously identified the Vigilante as female, roughly twenty and of above average height. Anna Noble, who twice had contact with the Vigilante, has admitted to not seeing any other details. She says that on both occasions the Vigilante was masked and once in silhouette. Hair samples have been found at the scene of the crime. However these have not matched any DNA records but do allow further features to become known. _

_Captain Erik Latimer, on instructions from Mayor Weselton, has named the Vigilante a public menace. The police urge that anyone who sees a person matching the description of wearing a blue reflective suit in a mask is to alert the authorities immediately. Experts are still uncertain as to how the Vigilante manipulates ice. Current theories suggest stolen technology, while some extreme ideas claim the Vigilante and the kidnappers were working in conjunction to provide an illusion of heroism. _

_In similar news, hunts for the Archer, Flynn Rider and the Mermaid continue. Rider has had sightings further from Corona in the past few weeks with some Arendelle locals wondering if there is an alliance between the various costumed crusaders…_

Elsa lost interest when the journalist's tale moved to these other 'superheroes'. In what little research she had made it seemed she was the only person in the mix who actually had powers. Although the more she looked the more Elsa found that there were far more of these insane public servants across the globe. So far there had been at least ten reports on different individuals, but within those files there were references to nearly twenty more. The three examples in the paper were only those limited to _this _country.

Outside the tinted windows the Mountains smoothly slid past. Even though the sun was barely dipping below the rooftop horizons, the streets held an unnatural darkness which felt foreboding when Elsa looked up at the people wandering along the sidewalks aimlessly. Since her return from Norway there had been no less than fifteen muggings and eight daylight robberies of what few stores remained open. The police had barely reacted under Weselton's administration, leading Elsa to view the motto '_To Protect and Serve_' with scorn. Even if they weren't entirely effective at the best of times Arendelle Police Force left a lot to be desired. There had been suggestions to have a Chief Maximus visit to bring them up to standard.

"We'll be at the tower in ten minutes, Miss." Kai said from the driver's seat, turning a corner onto a wider road running along the edge of the Mountains.

"Thank you, Kai." Elsa replied, rubbing her knee to massage the fading bruise underneath her slacks.

The relics of her adventure against Jones and his cronies were slowly healing over. Many of them were already indistinguishable from undamaged tissue, although they still hurt after limited exertion. Thankfully the bruises did not get in the way of her exercise routines. Those daily practices were a huge part of keeping her powers under control. Still, there were some patches of skin more discoloured than others and there was a burn over her stomach which required regular cooling since the taser had caused more damage than first expected.

It had all been worth it, ultimately. Anna had been rescued from her potential murderers. Elsa's identity was safe. George Jones had been imprisoned for his crimes against her family. Although it had perturbed Elsa that Jones had been barely mentioned in the papers since his arrest. All the other kidnappers had been listed. Jones alone had been absent, though had not reappeared in office.

As the car stopped at the traffic lights, Elsa wondered whether she would ever need to don the shiny blue suit again. Attacks against people she personally cared about seemed wildly unlikely, seeing as there were only three people she knew well enough to count as a friend. One was her sister, who had kept out of the public eye as much as possible recently, another was Olaf, whose connection to her was widely unknown, and finally there was Pabbie, who spent much of his day inside a well-guarded laboratory. Beyond that, Elsa didn't have any real friendly relationship with anyone. But at the same time, many of the residents of the city were at risk every day. And if the police weren't going to act in their protection, who would?

A possible answer leapt to her mind a Kai inched forward in the traffic queue. Her window lined up with a wide alleyway, down which Elsa saw a woman having her handbag wrestled off her by a tracksuit wearing thug. It shocked Elsa that people walked by without reacting to the crime, even when the woman began calling for help. She was putting up a hell of struggle, with her bag clutched in a death grip, but the thug was proving too persistent in his shoving. The responsibility for aid seemed to dissipate among the pedestrians, and Elsa Noble realised in that moment all it took was for someone to _act_.

That someone might as well be her.

"Kai, wait here or pull over when possible." She instructed, unclasping her seatbelt and jumping out of the vehicle.

The rush of people continued to listlessly wander by, almost forcibly ignorant of both the crime taking place just off the sidewalk and the millionaire who chose to help when no one else would. Marching perpendicular to walking traffic, Elsa entered the alley as she began to reach for the loose finger of her glove. Her hands ached to unleash the cold wind they contained. The attacked woman looked up at her when her foot glanced an empty can, expressing her relief with eyes which lit up like a fairy light while her face held stoic determination to continue hanging onto her bag.

Just as Elsa was pulling herself into a guarding stance, peeling away silk over her hand, she suddenly became very self-conscious of what she was doing. All her life she had been hiding her powers. They had only been used twice on purpose in her entire life, both times with a mask protecting her discovery. Now she was about to use them to fend off a petty criminal in the middle of the city with her face for all to see.

Worse still, out of the corner of her eye she saw a police car pull up in the line for the junction. They may ignore a mugging but they had been specially instructed to keep an eye out for random appearances of ice. Therefore, they wouldn't be quite as blind if a CEO produced a mountain of snow directly in front of them.

It was only when the victim started yelling at her that Elsa returned her thoughts to the present. Whilst she had stood in the middle of movement, the evening breeze flowing over her cold wrist, the thug had grappled the handbag from its owner and was now making a hasty escape back down the alley to freedom. Understandably, the woman who had just lost her keys, purse and other valuables normally kept in a handbag rounded on Elsa in a desperate fury. Sadly her irate rant fell on deaf ears, as the younger woman recollected her thoughts. Pulling the glove back fully over her arm, Elsa started to step back when the woman suddenly lunged forwards to shout directly into her face.

Elsa leapt back at the gross trespassing of her personal space, landing on the empty can. However, when her foot met the aluminium shell there wasn't the metallic _crunch_ one might expect. Instead there was a quiet _crack_. When Elsa stole a glance at the floor, she shrilly gasped as the frostbitten, ice-shining Coca-Cola can. She hadn't intended for her powers to have any effect on the surrounding area. The gloves had barely been removed from her forearm. How, then, had she frozen the trash? Her powers had never acted so subtly before, not without her awareness anyway. Frigid dread began to bubble under chest. Thankfully, the loud woman failed to notice.

"I'm sorry." Elsa timidly murmured, before turning and dashing back to the safety of the car.

Kai looked thoroughly bemused by the scenario but once his employer had slammed the door shut he had the common sense to pull away as quickly as possible. He didn't ask what Elsa had gone to do and she didn't offer to tell him.

Curled up on the back seat, Elsa spent the next few minutes attempting to gather together her fears. Her breathing was somewhat forced, trying to stop herself from falling into the familiar abyss of panic which threatened to engulf her at the appearance of this problem. Up until now, gloves had always proven able to contain the cold extensions of her emotions. It was only in the most extreme situations, when the stress was too much even for the most stoic of people, that her powers had managed to transgress the woollen barrier in any substantial amount. The mugging she had just witnessed, on the other hand, was not particularly stressful for her. So why had the can become frozen?

Knowing of only person who could offer an answer, Elsa decided she would have to discretely talk to Pabbie after the evening meeting.

* * *

"In conclusion," Captain Latimer stated, collecting together his report. "It appears nothing was taken in the break-in, with all damages related to the Arendelle Vigilante. The kidnappers seem to have chosen the building out of convenience for the security measures once they were inside, although how they knew Miss Noble, the younger Miss Noble that is, was in this location at the time of their attack is still unknown. Since Miss Noble has not been under threat in the previous twenty days we are assuming the group has been neutralised."

Even though it wasn't the conclusive evidence the Police Captain made it out to be, the board members still gave a half-hearted round of applause. Elsa, however, did not join in. Latimer had raised further questions into the case of Anna's abduction which had not previously concerned her. It did seem a little too well-timed to purely be coincidence, yet none of them could have known the sisters had arranged to meet in the building. On top of this, Elsa realised, how had they been aware of the security features which prevented their immediate arrest? Some facts did not fit the police theory, although she failed to voice her concerns to the man who had wanted her to negotiate with Jones.

"Thank you, Mr Latimer," Goddard said somewhat dismissively. The man Elsa could only really describe as a fatcat displayed minimum concern for the hostage situation once it had become clear nothing _worthwhile_ had been under threat. She was incredibly close to firing him on those grounds alone. "If you have somewhere else you need to be, don't let us keep you."

Latimer nodded, bid farewell and promptly exited. Once he was gone Goddard fell into the predictable routine of a meeting which Elsa had realised rarely strayed from a set path. He would open by discussing the gains and losses, before outlining departments he thought the company could save money on. Invariably, the board room would be split between support for Goddard and support for Pabbie, eventually leading to Elsa making the executive decision to either rope in the funding or ignore the worries. In the last eleven meetings, Goddard had been rejected no less than eight times. The discussion would then move onto new ventures the company could make to bring in more of the idolised green bills, which were usually approved, before closing with an arrangement for the next meeting.

Surprisingly, there was an almost wild tangent from Goddard unchanging agenda on this particular evening, which caught Elsa completely unaware. In fact, she had more or less switched off after Latimer had finished speaking some forty minutes ago. She doubted anyone other than Pabbie had realised she had instead been staring quite intently as her clasped hands on the table top.

"Next order of business; the Maldonian," Goddard's neighbour, whom Elsa believed was called Jameson, said. "As we are all aware, we have the good fortune to be receiving a visit from Prince Naveen in just two days time. We should also all be aware that this is important to the Corporation since Maldonia has a heavy interest in our pharmaceuticals."

If Elsa was perfectly honest, she had no idea Maldonia sourced most of their medicines from Arendelle. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure where Maldonia was. It sounded European.

"That's right," Goddard piped up. "So naturally, we're very keen to continue having the Maldonian government invest in us. Luckily, they're a largely autocratic state, so if we can impress Naveen we're pretty much home free. We feel even luckier, then, that our esteemed CEO has extended an invitation to Prince to stay in her estate."

"Hang on," Elsa interrupted, brow furrowing in bemusement. "I didn't invite the Prince to my _house_. I invited him to tour the company, on your suggestion, but I never said anything about the house."

A silence hung in the boardroom. No one wanted to explain the situation to the reserved, though fearsome, woman. Many had been under the impression she had known. Pabbie alone seemed equally as ignorant as Elsa.

"Right, well," Goddard started, swallowing at his mistake. "A number of the board thought it would be simpler for Prince Naveen to stay in your house to keep him close to the company. So we emailed around and arranged. You should have been notified."

"I beg your pardon?" Elsa questioned, outraged at the audacity. "A group of you, who are complete strangers to me outside these walls, decided another complete stranger will be sleeping in my guest room? Did none of you think to ask me about this in _person_?!"

"It's part of the job," Goddard casually shrugged despite the cooling atmosphere. "You're the figure head of this corporation. We organise everything, keep it running, you deal with the public image. Like the Queen of England!" He snapped his finger proudly at the analogy. "Queen Elizabeth; she's associated with the institutions of Britain, but how much power does she actually hold? Very little. The Prime Minister and his cabinet have most of the control. You're the 'Queen' of this company, if you like."

When Elsa did not respond with the enthusiasm Goddard apparently expected, he mirrored her anger and confusion with a lesser parody.

"I thought you liked all that British stuff?" He added. "Didn't you study at Oxford?"

"_Oslo." _Elsa corrected coldly. On the edge of her focus she felt frost fill the inside of her shoe.

"Oh." Goddard replied, mortified over his mistake as he fumbled to keep the analogy. "Well, the CEO of a Norwegian company. You're just like_ them_."

"The metaphor would have still worked," Elsa commented, in a terrifyingly calm voice. "Although you may be unaware, Norway is _also_ a constitutional monarchy under King Harald the Fifth. Additionally, a monarch is the only person in a country who can dissolve a parliament. So, _Mr Goddard_, your parallel is correct because this company is unique. _I _hold the right to dissolve this board as my father did and his father before him, who wrote the goddamn 'constitution' which this company has reached success with. Therefore, if you ever think of intruding on my personal life again without consulting me; you will find yourself in the lobby with a severance cheque and '_Knulle deg' _stamped on your forehead."

Goddard remained silent once Elsa finished her rant. It was all true, she did have the power to fire him or anyone else in the room due to an extended contract the legal department kept in effect. Few truly understood where her anger had come from over the matter. However every single grey face in a silk suit knew that their positions were very tenuous with Elsa.

"I will host Prince Naveen," Elsa conceded, fingers tremoring but clasped tightly to hide this fact. "But make sure this never happens again."

After a moment of quiet, there was an enthusiastic clapping sound from her right. Pabbie held his granite-like hands high as he applauded Elsa. He, of course, understood he was exempt from the verbal attack.

"If there's nothing else to discuss, I do think Queen Elsa ought to prepare for her guest." The old man warmly recommended, giving her a chance to escape the boardroom at long last.

* * *

Not too far away, at a small off-license in the middle of the Mountains, Anna Noble eyed the street carefully in both directions before stepping out of the store. In her hands she carried two plastic bags filled with clinking bottles and a six-pack of beer. These had been purchased by no legal means, seeing as their carrier was only nineteen despite what her driving license (even though she didn't own a car) said.

Anna was painfully aware of her last public appearance with alcohol; an unfortunate image which may forever be associated with her name. Luckily, Elsa didn't know of that exact image as of yet. If she were given a choice, Anna would make sure her older sister never found out about the incident four years ago. It had stung at the time, when it looked like Elsa didn't care about her, but she had since realised that absence was a blessing in some cases. Over the intervening years she thought she had learnt how to hold her liquor, or at least how to hide it from the public. There was no actual harm in what she was doing.

Regardless, after a short interval Anna readjusted her grip on the bags so she could pull her beanie further down her head. Once happy her red bun was fully covered, she pulled the loose green-and-black plaid shirt tighter around her torso and straightened the fake glasses. It seemed unlikely anyone would recognise without her trademark twin braids or tight shirts, but she liked to be certain. Right now, on the quiet side street, she was just another hipster. A hipster who could be arrested for underage drinking.

Anna quickened her step in fear of any journalists following her. Deep down she knew she was just paranoid about the media. The feeling of being followed turned out to be completely justified.

As she turned the next corner, Anna tripped over something that felt remarkably like a foot. The bottles clattered on the pavement, catching her attention more than the lanky hand which nonchalantly stretched out to grab her arm. She stopped falling just a foot off the ground and nothing spilt from the bags. Her sigh of relief was audible.

"Why, are you alright, my dear?" The owner of the hand said in a strong New Orleans accent.

Anna turned back to face the stranger, who she thought had also been the one to knock her down given his proximity and the emptiness of the street. He was a tall, ebony-skinned man who could have been entering his forties or still be in his twenties, with a slim moustache and a smile which revealed straight, albeit parted, front teeth. The way he smiled was simultaneously reassuring and unnerving, as his eyes glimmered in a dark blue which almost looked indigo. His frame was excessively slim, although his belly was visible under his slightly too small plum waistcoat. Tuxedo tails swished behind him when he moved, complete with a tall, crimson-banded top hat and spats over his shoes. In one hand he held a purple-topped cane while the other pulled Anna back to her feet.

"Erm, yes. Thank you." Anna replied, itching to retrieve her bags and run back to her apartment. Something about this gentleman didn't sit right with her.

"Well, I must say you looked a little flustered, girl," The untidily dressed gentleman responded quickly and easily. "Are you in need of a little pick-me-up? There's a bar not two blocks away."

"Oh, I'm alright," Anna slowly replied, noting that he still held her wrist loosely. She may have been inexperienced when it came to social cues but on the many occasions she had tripped every person who had caught her let go once she was back on her feet. "I've got some drinks waiting for me at home."

The purple-and-red man faltered briefly, having expected her to consent. Rethinking his approach, he tentatively let go. Anna immediately took a step back and reached for her bags. When she made to leave, the man slid around to face her again with his cane under his left arm, the hand in his pocket and a sly smile spreading across his face. Casually, he played with a deck of cards in his remaining slender hand.

"Ah! I see," He cried jovially. "You have _a boy_ waiting for you somewhere. I suppose a nice one? Good prospects?"

Despite every nerve in her body telling her to continue on her way, Anna stopped to listen. Currently, Hans was in the Westerguard building in a conference with other regional managers (who also happened to be his brothers). He had promised to drop by if the meeting ended early enough, although it was not uncommon for him to come out of the boardroom frustrated by his family's habit of overlooking him. Nevertheless, he would be in contact at some point and would probably invite her to a dinner out somewhere. Since her abduction three weeks ago, Hans had been much more proactive in pursuing romance; having taken her to two highly rated restaurants as well as a day trip on his private yacht. To be honest, Anna was not quite ready for a relationship but could imagine it happening in the not too distant future. In fact, there was a warm glow in her soul that her life finally seemed on track; she had her sister and a best friend who could one day be more. Not bad, although a bit cliché if she were to really think about it.

"Would you like to find out your future?" The strange man went on, flicking a card between his lengthy fingers. "After all, I do have _friends_ on the other side."

Anna couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her lips. The man drew his eyebrows together in surprise and insult.

"What?" She asked, internally laughing at the ridiculous idea. Her mother had long ago explained the scam that was psychics.

"Allow me to introduce myself," He said, rapidly regaining control. "I am _Doctor_ Facilier, Bokor and proprietor of the Louisiana Voodoo Emporium. I can tell you your past, present and future because my friends allow me sight. If you like, I could give you sight as well."

"I can see just fine, thanks." Anna replied, quickly shuffling to the side in an attempt to pass him.

Unfortunately he managed her position, blocking off the sidewalk. "Come now, girl. Surely you want to know what will come in your future?"

The momentary amusement Anna had experienced faded at his pervasiveness. Even more so, when she saw the small sachet of powder he had produced from amongst his cards the rosy colour drained from her face. All of a sudden she realised what exactly he was offering her by way of 'sight'. That was not the kind of recreational activity she was after, especially since half the city already thought she partook in it.

She pointedly looked between the little packet and Facilier's cold eyes. Outrunning him seemed unlikely, due to the excessive length of his legs. Fighting would be even less productive. He could have been armed for all she knew. If the Vigilante were to suddenly swoop in that would be a blessing. Hell, if Elsa were here she would feel more confident. Only one course of action would be close to useful.

"No, no." Anna determinedly replied, meeting the spindly giant's eye. "I'd like to go now. My Dad's waiting for me. He's a cop."

Whether Facilier believed her or not was unknown, but he shrugged good-naturedly and stepped aside. Not wanting to doubt her luck, Anna immediately began walking away from him towards the still sun-bathed apartment blocks where her penthouse was waiting. Thankfully, he didn't follow her. However, when she passed him she felt a sting erupt in her hand, the sensation of which was not too dissimilar to a weak bite. When she inspected her palm once she was safely around the corner, Anna found a small dent in the skin just below her little finger. There was a small trickle of blood, but nothing more.

Chancing a glance back along the street, Anna spotted Facilier walking in the opposite direction. As he went he swung what appeared to be a bulky pendant around a bony finger.

Wanting to forget the experience, the younger Noble dug a can of beer out of her bag, popped the cap and lightly jogged home whilst taking regular swigs of the bitter liquid.

* * *

The next morning, Elsa sat in her private study pretending to puzzle over a contract which would allow the Noble Corporation to supply a small chain of pharmacies near Dunbroch with various basic medicines. Apparently their old suppliers had claimed bankruptcy earlier in the month and they were now facing the possibility of being unable to provide prescriptions. Normally a document such as this would not have been an issue, but the contract had been forwarded to Elsa with a note from Goddard suggesting the company drive up the payments. That note had been promptly discarded in the waste paper basket in a little arctic heap.

It was the fact that the paper had been rendered ice-ridden unwillingly which gave Elsa her current state of confusion. As always, she had been wearing her gloves to prevent the tactile transmission. Indeed, today she was using a slightly thicker variety in a failed attempt to counteract the increased unpredictability. This recent development was playing more and more on her mind by the minute. Were these the signs that the dam holding in her powers was cracking? Had there been a change in her condition? Obviously there had been no cases of a stable genetic mutation such as hers before, so it was entirely possible in Elsa's mind that there were unknown variables in the original virus.

Unfortunately there had been no chance to consult Pabbie after the meeting. Jameson had required her urgent judgement on what was ultimately the trivial matter of replacing her office window. She had quite easily avoided using her office since her first day, seeing as she only really needed to attend the tri-weekly meetings and occasionally visit a few departments. All the paperwork could be managed in the privacy of her own home which gave her ample protection from revealing her powers. This, of course, meant that catching Pabbie at a free moment was supremely difficult. At least three messages had been left on his answering machine with cryptic instructions to investigate the issue.

Focussing on the gloves, Elsa inspected every minute stitch in case the cloth had been torn. However this was only wishful thinking. A few of the items she had frozen she hadn't made prolonged contact with, and certainly not against her skin. If they continued to prove a problem she reasoned she would have to send Naveen to stay somewhere else. Perhaps with Anna. An blueblood in the apartment might intimidate Hans and keep him away for a while. Equally it might only increase his visits.

When the red-headed Westerguard graced her thoughts a paperweight instantaneously crusted over with frost, with very quiet cracks illustrating the growth of the ice. Although Elsa missed the development entirely when a quick knock emanated from the door.

"Come in." Elsa welcomed, closing the lid of her antique writing desk to hide the documents.

The oiled door opened just enough to admit the familiar and friendly face of the household chef. Tiana DeLongis was relatively young and inexperienced when compared to other cooks to utilise the kitchens, but she was by the far the best and most hard-working Elsa had ever known. She had been hired by Gerda shortly before Elsa's return, primarily to prepare her employer's evening meals and provide for any other dining scenarios imaginable. Since Elsa had simple breakfasts and spent much of the day holed up in the study, Tiana had been given more time off that originally intended although this came at no less pay. In fact Tiana had chosen to apply for several part-time jobs to keep herself busy when she was not needed on the Noble Estate.

"Miss Noble, I'm heading off for the afternoon. I have an interview for waitressing just inside the city," Tiana said in a way which made it clear there would be no objection. It had since their first meeting that there was nothing that could stand in the way of the chef's ambition. Elsa respected that. "I'll be back by five."

Elsa nodded in understanding, taking a moment to admire the simple yellow sundress which Tiana seemed to economise for various purposes. She wondered if she would have just as hard working if she had been born without her wealth and the cryokinesis.

"Alright, take as long as you need," Elsa replied, fiddling with fingers of her left glove. "But before you go, did Gerda tell everyone about the Prince?"

"Yes, of course. I'll look up some Maldonian dishes this evening," Tiana helpfully responded. "I hear some of them are a challenge."

"I expect you'll be disappointed that they're not challenging enough." Elsa complimented, hoping it had come out correct. Sometimes her compliments were open to interpretation, much like her sister's.

Speaking of her sister, Gerda arrived just as Tiana was leaving to inform Elsa of the younger Noble's presence. Elsa wasted no time in rushing down the long hallways to the lounge, where Anna had unceremoniously made herself at home.

Having met often over the last few weeks, Elsa could immediately tell her sister wasn't entirely well this morning. The large sunglasses Anna wore were not entirely unexpected, although Elsa didn't want to bring up the apparent frequent drinking just yet. There was always a chance Anna would reject her concern or become insulted. Elsa herself was teetotal by demand, so was truly clueless as to what was a healthy amount to drink in a month. She liked to think Anna did not meet that limit at all and instead was merely a late teen rebel. Regardless of her alcohol induced symptoms, it appeared as if Anna had a green tinge to her skin.

Regardless of how she actually felt, Anna still made sure to behave as she normally would; just without quick movements. When asked if she was ill, she claimed to have had an overly large breakfast.

"So what's the exciting news?" Anna asked, eager to be in the know on Elsa's life.

"Well, exciting from most people's perspective, maybe," Elsa commented, still annoyed that this duty had been thrust upon her. "Prince Naveen will be staying _here._"

A single beat passed as Anna processed this news. Then she nearly jumped to her feet in exhilaration at the idea of having a Royal in her childhood home, with an accompanied squeal to punctuate her point. She did, however, remain seated she outwardly cringed when she tried to contort herself to standing.

"Are you serious?!" She cried. "_Prince Naveen?_ In this house?"

"Is- is that good?" Elsa asked, thoroughly bemused by the situation.

"Of course that's good! It's brilliant!" Anna clarified, bouncing on the sofa. "He's a _Prince_. Every girl dreams of meeting a prince!"

"I don't think they did in the War of Independence," Elsa drily replied, happy that her sister was happy. "Listen, I need you to do me a favour. Naveen has to enjoy his stay in Arendelle, otherwise the company will lose quite a lot of investment. Do you think you could organise some entertainment for him? Like a party or something?"

Anna's ears literally perked up at the word 'party'. "Hell yeah! Oh! Can it be here? The ballroom hasn't been used in ages! Sometimes I wonder why we have one when we don't throw any balls!"

"Um, yeah. Of course. If you can sort it all out." Elsa hadn't actually wanted to have a large gathering of people in her home, but she found it hard to deny Anna anything after all that time in isolation.

"Oh! I can't wait!" Anna exclaimed, barely containing her joy over the approaching social event. It would be difficult to plan on short notice, Naveen was due to arrive in just two days, but ideas were already swimming to her mind.

The tell-tale sound of phone dully trilled from Anna's pocket, breaking the building glee. When she looked at the text message her face fell underneath the reflective glasses.

"Ah, erm." She murmured, glancing from the phone to Elsa and back again.

"What is it?" Elsa was concerned at her sister's lowered mood. The accompanied face was one she never wanted to see Anna wear. In fact she had been the cause of disappointment for many years, making the expression all the more bitter in her eyes.

"Oaken's short staffed," Anna answered, with an evident internal debate raging in her head. "He's asking if I can work this lunch shift."

"Oh." Elsa simply replied. The sisters had had plans to make use of the family swimming pool this afternoon, which been idle for the last few years and deserved some attention.

"Would you mind, if I went?" Anna tentatively asked, reddening at the cheeks. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to leave him floundering. Quite a lot of people have been off sick recently."

"Yeah, no, it's fine," Elsa reassured, reaching to pat Anna on her shoulder but she ultimately decided not to. Anna didn't seem to notice. "We can always swim after you finish. It would actually give me a chance catch up on some work. Are you sure you're alright?"

When Anna clambered to her feet from the low sofa, she cringed at the head rush and looked as if her legs would give out at any moment. Rubbing her temples and giving a thumbs up, they made hasty arrangements to get together in the mid-afternoon rather than sharing a lunch Tiana had prepared for them.

Neither of them noticed, due to symptoms of illness and worry, the ice which slowly crept up the legs of Elsa's chair.

* * *

By one o'clock, two hours into her shift, Anna felt marginally better if still not one-hundred percent. She didn't think the opportunity had arisen for her to come into contact with anything virulent. Last night she had been perfectly well, so if anything this was merely part of a hangover she hadn't experienced before. Since arriving at _Oaken's _Anna had drunk at least three glasses of water which had thankfully lessened her headache and allowed her to get rid of the sunglasses. All she had to do was make it through the midday rush intact, then it was back to the mansion for pool fun with Elsa. That thought alone helped her get through the impromptu work.

"Anna, could you get table five's drinks?" Oaken asked, slamming down the order whilst gathering the sodas she had just poured for another table. "Danke."

As she moved around the bar to find the required taps, Anna just so happened to look up at the window to spot an unfortunately familiar face. On the opposite side of the steamed panes, smiling sadistically at her, was Facilier. They both stopped to make eye contact, during which Anna reasserted her position by motioning towards the enormous form of Oaken. It didn't take a genius to realise the European man was capable of lifting an adult over his head in one hand. However, Facilier barely reacted.

Instead he held up the bulky pendant from the night before and squeezed it. Then he quickly wandered out of sight.

Worried by the encounter, Anna began to search for her phone to report the location of a dealer to the police. She felt sick again when she turned to find the stairs _but instead saw the ballroom of the mansion; alive with laughing people and music and the warm glow of a chandelier. People her own age were dancing to the ageless tunes of Beethoven, while the middle aged (presumably business partners of her father's) stood at the sides enjoying champagne. The colours of suits and dresses swished like a golden rainbow, and then _Oaken tapped her on the shoulder.

"Anna, the drinks!" He urged.

_When Anna looked to her left she saw a figure she didn't know she had missed so much. It was strange given that, to her knowledge, she had last seen Adgar Noble that morning. Regardless, she wasted no time in hugging him enthusiastically. He looked surprised by her clinginess but did not hesitate in returning the gesture. _

"_Are you alright, Anna?" Adgar asked, eyebrows drawn in confusion although his eyes laughed merrily. _

"_I feel like I haven't seen you in years." She admitted with great embarrassment. Her cheeks actually felt sweaty from the heat that radiated off them. _

"_We've only been gone a week," Adgar replied. "If you missed anyone it should be Elsa."_

_Elsa! Where was Elsa? Anna couldn't believe she'd missed her sister's graduation. She couldn't remember why she'd refused the trip to Norway, but it was more important she saw Elsa soon. _

"_Ah, there she is!" Adgar exclaimed, directing Anna's attention to the open door. _

_The music had stopped and in its place was a fanfare welcoming the older Noble daughter home. Elsa stood in the arched doorway in the most radiant dress Anna had ever seen: it was blue and dazzled under the low light in a way that made her look like a hero. Her hair was pulled together in a single thick braid which ran over her shoulder, rather than the tight bun normally favoured for studying. She was here to have fun, and when she spotted Anna in the crowd she reached out to take her hand. Anna soon found herself pulled to stand beside her sister in front the crowd which applauded on sight, although they were largely ignored by Elsa who instead hugged Anna tightly. They hadn't seen each other since last summer, when Elsa came home for the family holiday._

_Then the world shifted before her eyes and Anna was dancing with Hans to slow music. The party had thinned out; Elsa was talking to some of the business partners elsewhere in the ballroom. Hans looked resplendent in his tuxedo, more dashingly handsome than she had ever seen him. When he stared down at her, his eyes communicated everything she needed to hear. This night had been perfect. _

_Unfortunately, Anna stumbled slightly when her feet wouldn't follow her instructions. She suddenly felt unbelievably hot. Almost like she was melting. Each step became weaker and her hands felt overwhelmingly sticky. _

"_Are you with me, Anna?" Hans said concernedly, although his voice had a much thicker accent that before. Come to think of it, Hans didn't have an accent. He certainly wasn't German. Nor was he nearly _seven feet tall with a thick moustache, dressed in a heavy woollen jumper.

"Anna! Say something!" Oaken cried, supporting her with the plate-sized hands as she tried to inch her way along the floor as if she was dancing.

She gave a little cry as she fell unconscious, falling slack against Oaken's body and starting to spasm.

"Mein Gott! Someone call an ambulance!" Oaken yelled, quickly laying Anna on the floor.

Anna wriggled on the spot, then fell very calm. She didn't respond to any stimulus.

* * *

**Please Review.**


	9. The Voodoo Plot - Part Two

**This one took a while, and has come out as the longest single chapter so far. Subsequently I'm quite spaced and I'm not really sure what to mention in this comment. Do I even need to comment each time? **

**As ever, a huge thank you to my reviewers and a hearty welcome to any followers. Really not sure how far this would have got without you all. I'd probably have given up ages ago. **

**Warning for a few incidents of swearing and fantasy action, but isn't that what we're all here to see?**

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Arendelle Hospital's Emergency Room was irregularly busy today, or at least that's what it felt like when Elsa burst through the doors in a state of horror. All around her the seats were filled with benign accidents, childish cries and middle-aged complaining. A few people were visibly annoyed at having to sit among the ill and injured on such a warm day, others were vacant of colour just as Elsa was. Phones rang every couple of seconds, grabbing the attentions of a limited number of nurses on standby. From every angle the calm waiting area was swarming with activity and heat and _noise_, making it very hard for the new arrival to focus on any one feature other than the nagging voice which pressed that she find her sister.

Feeling dizzy from shock, fear and dehydration in her race to reach the hospital on a July mid-afternoon, Elsa dragged her feet through the congregation of accidents to the desk. Her ears were ringing dully, her vision blurring in her single-mindedness to find someone who could point her in the right direction. This feeling of dread for Anna was becoming too familiar and she didn't even know what was causing the situation this time. All she had heard from Oaken was that her sister had collapsed into an unresponsive state and was being transferred to the hospital. The giant man had barely explained anything before Elsa was rushing out of the door to reach the city. There hadn't even been time to call Kai around with the car, instead stealing one of her late father's motorcycles and appropriating its use.

The cold bubbled under her skin, itching her fingers into agony, all that time. Now that she was standing in the ER it only grew stronger so that it took half of her concentration to keep it all inside. Even then, the bucket of water atop the cooler in a small alcove next to the desk froze solid within three metres of Elsa. As if the fates pitied her in that moment, no one saw the spectacle which would have unearthed the identity of the one-time Vigilante due to the hulking mass which put himself between the public and the cooler at the pivotal second.

"Elsa! Yoo-hoo!" Oaken caught her attention with his trademark cheery call, which was strangely flat in his concern.

"Mr Oaken!" She replied, thankful to see someone she knew. "Where is she?"

"She has been taken to a private room, ze doctors say she is stable for ze minute," Oaken wasted no time in assuring her of this, reaching out a comforting bear-paw which Elsa stepped away from in her anxious state. "I do not know vhat happened, but she broke out in sveat and vas overheating."

Elsa's relief was bittersweet. Anna was alright, for now at the very least. But there was still the unanswered question of what had suddenly afflicted her. It couldn't have been caused by an outside influence, as far as Elsa could reason. Her worried mind started playing out all the farfetched explanations; from poison darts to aggressive flu. The symptoms could hardly have been so powerful in such a short space of time, especially as both sisters had been immunised against all basic and less-common diseases per the Noble Corporation's policy, and there certainly hadn't been any reports of a virus like this nationwide over the last few weeks. Once again her links with the pharmaceutical world would have told her.

So, what if, it was Elsa? What if the sudden increase in her powers was marking a mutation of the freezing virus attached to her every cell? What if it developed into an airborne pathogen? She could be immune and have infected Anna at some point. It was all _her_ fault. Again.

Snow began to pile up inside her boots when the self-loathing crashed into her like an irrational but uncontrollable wave and her hands felt as if the ice was collecting on the surface of her skin. Her consciousness split itself between the unrelenting hatred which drove her to panic and the small, logical part of her brain which demanded that she stay in control.

"Elsa?" Oaken asked timidly, seeing the strain of her jaw muscles as she clenched her skull to prevent screaming. Her entire body was rigid, which had the giant man worried for her health. He had already seen one Noble struck down. "Are you alright?"

She was only partially aware Oaken had spoken, as she found it a much greater struggle to keep her paranoia at fragile bay. How long would it take until she knew just how bad the situation was? It must have been an hour since Anna arrived. Surely the Doctors would have some idea as to the severity of her condition. Against every rational and spiteful thought on religion, Elsa found herself praying under her breath to be relieved of this painful ignorance. She just had to _know_. Then further steps could be figured out.

Without touching her, Oaken somehow managed to direct her to a vacant seat where she could take the weight off her shaken feet. He left her briefly to retrieve a plastic cup of water, which took longer than expected when he discovered the water cooler was mostly solid. Elsa didn't meet his eye when he handed her the sharply cold liquid.

"You care about Anna a lot, ja?" Oaken gently inquired, kneeling opposite her.

Elsa nodded, eyes cast at the floor.

"She alvays talks about you," He went on, smiling slightly despite their surroundings. "She asked for you _specifically_ vhen she fell. And here you are."

"Anna is," Elsa started, pausing to swallow a heavy lump in her throat. "Anna is the most important person, to me. I don't know what I'd be without her."

_Alone_ was the key word which echoed through her frayed nerves.

"I do not know who Anna vould be vithout you," Oaken agreed. "And I vould say zat you are her hero."

"No." Elsa strongly argued, meeting Oaken's eye. "I am not. Nor do I deserve to be. I left her by herself when our parents _died_. Every bad thing that has happened to her since then is my fault."

Her giant companion was quiet for a few moments. As he processed her words she saw his face shift from scepticism to belief to… acceptance. From what she saw he found her statement acceptable. But what he said next surprised her.

"Forgive me, but zat is ze stupidest idea I have ever heard," Oaken kindly said. "You speak as if zhere is no free will. As if everything you have done to Anna has led her to behave in a particular vay. Vell, nein. Anna makes her own choices. And anyone knows zat bad is likely to happen at some point when zey make a choice. So you do not need to accept blame for vhat has happened to Anna, however much you believe it is your fault. And ze past does not matter. All zat matters is zat you care for her. Zat is enough."

Elsa didn't quite know how to respond. The reasoning made sense to her, but at the same time it was completely meaningless to her situation. Oaken was blissfully unaware of her truth and couldn't know how she had contributed to what she was now certain was an infection originating from her unnatural genes. She had a feeling that if the selfless giant did know, he would condemn her for what she could do along with everyone else. Every moment Anna was with her, especially when her powers went haywire, was danger. And no matter how long ago that first accident was, it would always matter to their relationship.

Before she could answer, a nurse who recognised the city's richest resident called her name and beckoned her down the corridor which led deeper into the hospital. Without a second thought Elsa sprang past Oaken to follow the pink scrubs to the revered knowledge. Some small shred of her still hung onto the hope that something else had caused Anna to collapse. She needed to know, now more than ever.

As she raced down the semi-frantic halls behind the nurse, Elsa didn't notice the absence of an erratic trial of ice behind her. Indeed, her mind was sharpened on reaching the hospital bed more than the worry of her powers, which had naturally abated themselves in this moment under her blind focus. It was an occurrence which happened so rarely Elsa never realised until afterwards.

Finally, the nurse led her into the plain private room Anna had been set up in. Despite everything, all the niggling fears and anxious leaps in judgement, the youngest Noble was sitting quite brightly atop the covers still fully clothed. Apart from the IV line in her forearm and the fatigue under her eyes, Anna looked perfectly fine. She even smiled on spotting Elsa's distinctive hair. It took every ounce of control for Elsa to not throw herself over her sister and thank every God in the world's pantheon.

"Hi!" Anna called, shuffling up the bed so her back was straight.

"What- What happened?" Elsa asked, caught between bemusement and the overwhelming, feather-light relief.

"Oh, I came over all woozy," Anna dismissed, jabbing a thumb at her IV. "They've hooked me up on minerals and vitamins. I think we should get a few of these for after the ball! It's doing wonders for my headache."

Elsa stood awkwardly in the doorway, suddenly very light headed although she remained steady. Slowly, she took measured steps towards the bed and cautiously reached out for Anna. Her sister was caught rather off guard by the gesture, but returned the action just as carefully. When their fingers were about to touch, Elsa suddenly remembered her other problem; so she abruptly retracted her hand with an apologetic grimace.

"I was- I was terrified," She admitted, holding Anna's warm gaze. "I didn't know what was going on. I just got a call from Mr Oaken and…"

"Elsa, don't worry about me," Anna assertively informed her. "Look at me! All I had was a slight tumble. It's all fine."

"It may not be as 'fine' as you think." A new voice beckoned from the doorway.

The Noble girls turned simultaneously to meet a fresh, young face in a police uniform. He was above average in height, with dirty blonde hair and slightly more rounded features including his cheeks and nose. Unlike the other officers Elsa had encountered since her return, he stood with purpose; as if he knew what he was doing and was going to achieve it despite the odds. There was a professionally detached glimmer in his eye which only made Elsa assume it was a conscious effort to remain removed from the emotions of the room. It seemed he was all too aware of the atmosphere he had just intruded on.

A doctor beside him wandered into the room to briefly inspect Anna's mostly blank chart.

"Miss Noble, it seems you're fine. More than healthy, even," The doctor said disinterestedly. "I'd like to keep you on an IV for a little longer, but there's no reason for you to be kept overnight. You can be discharged once a nurse is happy with your progress."

"What happened to Anna?" Elsa piped up, unwilling to be out of the loop and keeping an eye on the officer. "Is it something to do with him?"

The doctor looked between the three people in the room, before giving a heavy sigh and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"It appears your sister experienced a mineral imbalance, accompanied by a rush of unnatural anaesthetics," He abstractly explained. "They were short term, and not high enough to have lasting effects, of course we'll know more when her blood test comes back. Officer Bjorgman is here because, per regulation, we have to report anything which looks like drug use."

The sisters' jaws dropped in unison as the doctor calmly revealed this information. Seconds afterwards Anna began loudly denying she had ever taken anything akin to an illegal substance in her life, and didn't stop until Elsa gave her an uncharacteristically stern look. Officer Bjorgman, the man with the shiny badge waiting patiently in the corner, cleared his throat to gain their attention once they fell silent again.

"This isn't an accusation of regular drug use," He clarified, stepping past the doctor to the end of Anna's bed. "I'm here because the reported symptoms of your collapse matches other cases which have appeared over the last week or two. All I want is to ask you a few questions and get some information."

He put it so reasonably, and manipulated his up to now detached gaze into a persuasive little grin so expertly, that Anna agreed after a moment's thought. This calmed Elsa to a great extent, having never believed that her sister would partake in recreational highs. Underage drinking, obviously. But not _drugs_. The doctor walked out of the room with a nod from Bjorgman, although his absence was unfelt as soon as he left.

"So what do you want to know?" Anna asked, somewhat bitterly. "Where I got the 'dope'? How much I shoot into my veins?"

Bjorgman was slightly perturbed by Anna's shifting demeanour of control in the interview, before he took back the power to question with a succinct explanation.

"I don't think you willingly took the drugs," He stated simply, reaching into his pocket notebook and retrieving a five-by-three inch photograph. "Although I may have to report 'vein shooting' if you were serious. Actually, first of all I want you to tell me if you've seen this man in the last forty-eight hours."

When he handed Anna the photograph, Elsa made a point to study the potential trespasser of her sister's wellbeing. She dreaded to think a group affiliated with the Tower kidnappers had continued their aim to blackmail the company through the young woman. Her fingers were gathering a numb pins and needles with the surging of cold beneath her skin, while she abruptly recalled the location of the blue suit she had worn three weeks ago. It would still be lying on the floor of the Research Facility, unless Pabbie or Olaf had moved it.

The fake gentleman in the photo certainly looked like the kind of person her one-time alter-ego would pay a visit to. It had been taken in 2009, but she doubted his appearance had changed that much by the sharp intake of breath Anna gave. Perhaps, if her rising anger continued to burrow itself into her psyche, she might retrieve the blue metal mask to hunt this 'Facilier', as it said on the board the man held, and teach him not to approach her sister.

"Yes," Anna finally answered. "I saw him last night and only a few minutes before I collapsed."

Bjorgman nodded while Elsa made sure to file away every bit of information she could gain on Facilier. Her breathing was becoming heavy, her posture tense as if under imposed restraint.

"Where did you see him, on both occasions, and what did he do?" Bjorgman pressed on, jotting down a few hasty points.

"Well, I bumped into him on the street, not too far from Queen Boulevard," Anna slowly and somewhat timidly recounted. Evidently the gangly criminal scared her, if only slightly. "He, er, I think he tripped me on purpose and then caught me. We talked for a while, and I tried to leave when I realised what a total creep he was, but then he offered me some white powder. I lied about my- my Dad being a police officer and he let me go."

"Alright," Bjorgman drawled, dragging his pen rapidly across the tiny page as he sought to capture as much detail as possible. "What time was this? Roughly."

"Erm, about eight? I don't really know." The younger Noble fidgeted with the bed covers, feeling ashamed of the encounter.

"And what happened when you saw him next? Where was that?"

"It was, erm, it was just before I fainted," Anna seemed to struggle in recalling more of this occurrence, as if something was clouding her memory. "I was getting a drinks order in _Oaken's_ and he was there in the window, and then he waved or something and left. I tried to find my phone to call the police and then…"

She trailed off, paling quite considerably. The rate at which she lost colour in her face made Elsa fear Anna was about to collapse again, but then her sister reached out and grabbed her elbow as if to steady herself. Swallowing thickly, Anna blinked a few times before resuming her fragmented narrative.

"Then I started seeing things, and I collapsed." She finished, staying away from any deeper details by choice rather than failure to recall.

"Facilier didn't go near you then, the second time?" Bjorgman asked, tapping his pen again the notepad. "He stayed outside _Oaken's_ the entire time?"

"Yeah." Anna replied definitively, remaining rather flat in mood since her admission of hallucinations.

"Mr Bjorgman," Elsa said, voicing her concerns. "Is it at all possible this 'Facilier' is after Anna? Like the group who took over the Noble Tower?"

Bjorgman mulled over the question for a few moments, thinking over the possible links between the incidents. This was the most effort she'd seen in an Arendelle Police Officer since her return. Throughout Anna's disjointed story he had remained attentive to the few details she gave and had given a larger amount of thought in responding to Elsa than Latimer had when the kidnappers made demands. She was almost impressed by his attention to the motto 'Protect and Serve'.

"To be honest, I don't think they're connected," He eventually answered. "Facilier operated mostly in New Orleans, where he has a reputation for a hallucinogenic drug he calls 'Voodoo'. He's had a few run-ins with the NOPD, but then two weeks ago he appeared in Dunbroch and we think he's behind a series of collapses in Arendelle which have had similar hallmarks. At least five people have had traces of Voodoo in their blood, and seven more have confirmed seeing him. But there doesn't seem to be a pattern to the incidents. It's likely he just chose Miss Noble randomly."

A small part of the emotional wound within Elsa's heart was soothed by Bjorgman's logical theory, yet anger continued to well in her soul. Neither Anna nor the officer had noticed, but in the last few minutes the temperature of the room had been gradually dropping while an adrenaline fuelled tremor manifested itself in her right arm.

When Bjorgman turned back to Anna, asking for her address and contact details so she could be marked as priority should Facilier resurface near her, Elsa took the chance to send a brief message to both Olaf and Pabbie. _North Mount Station, half an hour_ should be clear enough for them to understand her intentions without the risk of discovery in case another person read the texts. She couldn't think of anyone close enough to Pabbie or Olaf who would go through their phones, but caution had to be exercised nonetheless. All she needed now was a plausible reason to leave Anna in the hospital without appearing cold hearted.

In a paradox of luck, it was at that moment a new arrival knocked on the door carrying a large bouquet of colourful flowers and an oversized stuffed bear.

"Hello?" Hans Westerguard shyly asked, tiptoeing into the suddenly crowded room with a well-practiced smile and rather convincing concern in his eyes. "Is everyone all right?"

The contrast between Anna's pleasure and Elsa's dismay could not have been more pronounced. Indeed, the beaming grin and sickened grimace were comparable to the masks of drama, although Hans hardly focussed on the elder Noble as he handed the cuddly animal to Anna. The flowers eventually found a safe spot lying across the bedside table whilst the talking muttonchops wittered on to the distaste of Elsa.

"I heard a certain someone fell ill and was rushed to hospital," Hans said, playfully punching Anna's shoulder as if she had come down with the sniffles. "So naturally I followed suit as soon as I found the right daisies."

Once again, Bjorgman cleared his throat to announce his presence to Hans, who pretended to jump in alarm. Shooting that actually quite realistic smirk to the officer, he started apologising incessantly for interrupting. Bjorgman failed to look amused.

"Perhaps I should be going," Bjorgman said, folding the notepad pack into his top pocket and shuffling towards the exit. "Obviously you all need to catch up and I've left my dog in the car. More interviews may be required, but we'll wait until your blood test comes back."

Elsa saw this as her chance to excuse herself also, rather than dragging out her guilt of leaving Anna behind. Sadly, she couldn't explain the real reason for a quick exit even though it would most likely fuel her younger sister's paranoia of sororial hatred. In reality, Anna was never far from her thoughts. Besides, Hans would keep her company for the next few hours in all likelihood.

"I need to get to the office," Elsa abruptly lied, rising from the chair to ward off argument. "Goddard wants me to look over some contracts. But, how about you stay at the mansion tonight? In case you have another fall. I won't be in too late."

The impromptu invitation was effective in eradicating Anna's brief disappointment. She understood that Elsa was meant to be running a _billion dollar_ company, so spare time would be sparse. But that didn't stop the small nugget of bitterness in her heart twitching every time plans had to be cancelled or rearranged.

"Yeah, yeah sure!" Anna jumped on the invitation, forgetting today's troubles for a sweet second. "We can plan for Naveen's party!"

"Yes!" Elsa cried as she reminded herself a Prince was meant to be visiting in only a few days' time. "Oh God, there's so much to do."

"Well, I could help," Hans quietly offered, surprising Elsa with his apparent selflessness. "I'd love a chance to meet a Royal, and there's not much going on with my company at the moment; so I could devote a few hours to organising some entertainment."

Elsa did her best to hide the scowl which threatened to erupt on her face, though thankfully it was Anna's squeal of excitement which caught most of the attention. Apparently the redhead though it was a _wonderful_ idea.

"Would you? Hans, that'd be brilliant!" She shrieked happily, gripping the man's bicep in eagerness.

"I'm more than happy to," Hans genuinely assured, although Elsa had a difficult time believing him. There was nothing in his manner to suggest otherwise, it was only that she had stewed in anger at him for so many years he couldn't be divided from the enraged memories. "Although I do have a small errand to run this evening, otherwise I'm flexible."

Making a pointed cough, Elsa reminded her sister and the partially ignored company that she was about to leave. They promptly quieted to allow her to ask her final questions.

"Do you want me to send Kai to get you?" Elsa queried, doing her best to fit a functional social life around the alter-ego currently taking shape in her mind.

Before Anna could answer, Hans piped up instead. He insisted that he would drive her to the Noble Estate when she was discharged with a stop-off at her apartment on route. Again, his offer proved too much for Anna as she more than enthusiastically agreed. Without realising, Elsa felt a surge of jealousy within her freezing form at the idea of her sister being happy in the company of the man she despised. However, she equally could not deny Anna's happiness and had no choice but to accept.

"Thank you, Hans." Elsa woodenly thanked as she left, giving Anna a final, affectionate glance.

* * *

When she finally arrived at North Mount Station, she was unsurprised to find Olaf and Pabbie already waiting diligently in the entrance hub. The walls and floor had somehow remained encased in the haphazard ice Elsa flung out on her first visit several weeks ago, keeping a level chill to the room which her companions seemed to tolerate under the jackets they had wisely brought. Olaf had taken his place at the computer terminal he used on his last visit, looking almost eager as he excitedly expected her plan. It was an endearing quality of his that he would simply roll with everyone else's ideas.

Pabbie, on the other hand, was leaning against a bench which ran along he opposite wall with a mixed expression of recognising necessity and grim pessimism. He had retrieved the blue suit from the shopping bag it had been left in, which was currently spread out on the frigid desk in all its glimmering glory. It seemed Pabbie was busy fiddling with the metal mask. A thin red-brown line was painted along the outer rim, corresponding with a faint mark across Elsa's right eyebrow.

"How's Anna?" Pabbie questioned as soon as he heard Elsa's light step on the frost. It only made sense for him to fear the worst for the younger Noble as well, having witnessed both the girls grow up over his decade-and-a-half long association with the family. They were the closest he had to his own children.

"She's fine," Elsa was quick to relieve the old man, well aware of his concerns. "She was attacked by a drug dealer, but she's fine. She'll be discharged from the hospital in a few hours."

Despite the more shocking aspect of Anna's condition, Pabbie nodded. Without speaking further Elsa reached for the shiny fabric and examined its condition. After several bullet impacts, not to mention throwing herself around the tower, the suit still looked to be in pristine condition; its metallic surface completely unmarked to the point the disco ball simile would be applicable. Reluctantly, Pabbie handed her the mask when he realised she was entirely serious about her unspoken intentions.

"I've flattened the top of it slightly," He explained, drawing attention to the smoother section of the disguise which would cover her low forehead. "Hopefully it won't cut you, should someone punch you again."

Chipping away the dried blood, Elsa tentatively peeled off her gloves to begin changing into the newly adopted crime-fighting gear.

"So you're really going after this dealer?" Olaf questioned from his seat in front of the loading computer. "What if the police come after you?"

"None of them have shown much interest in stopping petty criminals, I doubt they'll take a woman in this glittery monstrosity seriously," Elsa reasoned, thinking over what she already knew about the ACPD. "And if they do, I need you to hack the city's cameras to stay one step ahead."

Olaf giggled with the thought of the challenge, swinging his chair to face the cool ultramarine home screen of the Noble Corporation. It wasn't long until he had brought up a string of black and green coding to tamper with.

"Can you also find any mention of a 'Dr Facilier' across the internet?" Elsa pressed, making a mental list of every advantage possible. "I want to know exactly who it is I'm turning over to the police."

To save the men the same embarrassment as last time, Elsa located the nearest platform in which to change clothes. The suit had stretched considerably during its last use, so that it no longer felt quite so tight but was unfortunately more figure-hugging than she would have liked. When she slipped the cool fabric over her skin, there was that familiar and longed for feeling of freedom again. She could feel the cold forces within her being captured by suit, redirecting it so there were only two points ice could be emitted from; that being the hands. Although, when Elsa thought about, she wasn't sure whether she could use her powers through her head or not.

With her hair partially loosened into the thick plait and with her bangs swept upwards, Elsa relaxed into her self-appointed role. _I can do this_, she told herself. She held the mask to face her, appreciating it's minimal yet large design.

Another thought suddenly popped into her head whilst admiring the blue metal-plastic combination. Where had Pabbie got it from? She hadn't questioned the gift at the time, but the mask must have been planned. It fit too perfectly and couldn't have been a rushed purchase. For Heaven's sake, it even matched the colour scheme of the suit. Thought had been put into this. At every turn, Pabbie had been prepared. He had hidden several hundred copies of the bullet-proof material from the military. He had figured out where she had gone to hide after the first public use of her powers. And, as shown, the mask had been so well-fitted it was almost like it had been sculpted to her face.

These thoughts were pushed out of her mind, however, by the echoing cry of success from Olaf. He called Elsa back through to the main hub, although he made a considerable effort to look at her face rather than the decidedly immodest get-up she had appropriated. If it was possible for improvements to be made for the suit, that would be Elsa's first request.

"I found loads on Facilier," Olaf gleefully informed her. "He's all over social media. There's even a campaign page on Twitter to keep him out of New Orleans."

True to his word, the small, pale man had unsurfaced entire pages dedicated to the analysis of the criminal and his dangerous product. A number of pictures had also been revealed in the search; showing Facilier looking very smug next to a number of potheads or stoners. Through all of them, he was dressed exactly the same; except for a sleek skull talisman he wore in a few of the more recently dated photographs. Elsa felt her skin crawl at the idea this man had been anywhere near her sister. She would have to teach him otherwise.

"That's him, then?" Pabbie asked, studying the pages of information which were spread across the screen. He was particularly interested in the retrieved forensics report on the make-up of Voodoo. "Can you print this off? If we can figure out the ingredients we might be able to pinpoint his location."

Wordlessly, Olaf followed the command; which included restarting the aged printer which was embedded in the frosted floor. Whilst he did this, Elsa nudged Pabbie to the side of the room to ask about her last concern.

"Pabbie," She began, glaring down at her aching cold hands. "I know this might be the wrong time, but I think there's a problem with my powers."

If the old man hadn't been alert before, he was now as he stood with a ruler straight back and all the fascination of a scientist.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "What's happened?"

"I've been slipping recently," She admitted, feeling the freezing energy whirling in her bones. "I think they've been growing, like they did when I was a child. They've acted without me being aware of it."

"Well, what's the scale? Are you freezing buildings?"

"No, just small things. And a water cooler, I think." When she said it that way, she realised the problem wasn't nearly as vast as she thought it had been. Pabbie seemed to catch onto this as well.

"If it hasn't been devastating or dangerous to others, then I don't see this being a real issue," He argued, examining her hands. "Will it get in the way of what you're planning tonight?"

"It shouldn't." Elsa reasoned. It was extremely unlikely she would be able to hunt Facilier down in a night. Instead, she had a much more realistic goal in place. There was still a considerable fear that if Olaf hacked into the Police records someone might notice, so another source would be needed. And there was only one person who had impressed her enough.

"Olaf," Elsa called when he'd finally finished figuring out how the printer worked. "One more thing I need. There's an officer I need to find; he's in his mid-twenties so he must have joined the force not too long ago. A few years maximum. His name is Bjorgman."

* * *

In an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Arendelle, the hunted Dr Facilier nervously awaited his benefactor whilst surrounded by the little home comforts he had brought north. Among them were a few shrunken heads hung from the exposed rafters; some of which were fake but many had been located from the more primitive tribes in South America. They gave the draughty, dusty office a more intimate feel for the lanky self-styled 'bokor', as well as scaring the few henchman that had joined him for the job. A round table sat in the centre of the room, covered by a musty red velvet tablecloth and weighed down by a heavy crystal ball, along with a deck of tarot cards. It was these pictographic rectangles Facilier played with as he the seconds ticked by.

It was phenomenally out of character for his contact within the city to appear in person. Since he had first been summoned, Facilier had only seen the 'White Knight' (as the henchman nicknamed the costumed freak) twice; once when he had first arrived and again on the first heist. The warning had come out of the blue just a few hours before, not long after he had returned from testing last night's subject. All it took was the thought of that silent footed figure to make Facilier extremely fretful over his continued existence on the planet. Surely that sword wouldn't swing in his direction before the plan was complete?

There was a clatter from the creaky stairs outside the office door, bringing Facilier into the moment as he prepared for an imminent attack. Wielding his cane as if he could fence against the White Knight, he foolishly held a long stance on a perpendicular angle to the door. His anger when short, fat, balding Lawrence burst through the rotting wood was palpable.

"Lawrence!" Facilier yelled, more confident in his threat to jab the man with the cane. "Don't you know about knocking! Are you trying to insult _me_, little man?!"

"N-no," Lawrence's snivelling demeanour only made Facilier's contempt for him rise. "W-we saw a vehicle, a truck I think, stop outside the fence. He might be here soo-…"

The large waste of muscle trailed off, eyes fixed on the space behind Facilier. When the taller man turned, he did his best not to leap at the surprise spectre-like form of the White Knight. His face, as always, could not be made out under the ornamental helmet. He could have been anyone under the fancy garb and rigid posture. Indeed, it was entirely possible the Knight wasn't even a 'he'. It was impossible to tell.

"Friend!" Facilier cried once he gathered his appeasing wits again. "How's it all going? Is something wrong with our deal? Lawrence! Shut the door!"

Lawrence did shut the door, but stupidly remained on the wrong side of it. The White Knight glanced at him, then back to Facilier.

"You made a mistake." The electronically changed voice grated, making Facilier shudder.

"Mistake? What mistake?" The drug-dealer worriedly asked. "Did we leave something at one of the pharmacies?"

The White Knight strode forwards, taking Facilier's vacant seat at the round table. He stared down both the present crooks, focussing more on the giant as an invisible rage made for a fragile atmosphere. Lawrence quivered under the steely gaze. It was only through an extreme amount of effort that Facilier could keep up his bravado.

"The girl you tested, the one from last night," He began, the false tones masking the emotion which radiated from his manner. "Was Anna Noble."

That particular name held no real meaning for Facilier. He could only stare without knowledge in hopes this 'Anna Noble' was not as dangerous as the Knight made out.

"Who's that?" He asked.

"Anna Noble is the sister of Elsa Noble," The Knight condescendingly explained. "Elsa Noble is head of the Noble Corporation. It is also Elsa Noble who ruined the last plot by personally interfering so that she could 'save' her sister. Because you harmed that girl, you have practically made her your enemy. She has abilities you can't even dream to possess."

Facilier scoffed at the warning. One little rich girl couldn't pose that much of a problem. What would she do? Pay him to leave the city alone?

"She _does _sound dangerous," He mocked, sitting opposite the Knight. "But I'm sure I can manage her. The cards show I'll succeed."

In a single swipe, the White Knight drew his sword and sliced through the tarot deck. Facilier almost wept. He loved those cards.

"Even if that wasn't complete bullshit, Elsa Noble could still unravel the plan. You have not dealt with her before. I have." The White Knight warned. "You better have something that can stop her. Hinder her, at least."

A few beats passed until Facilier realised this was the Knight's invitation to be impressed. It was now or never, and if he couldn't produce anything clever it was very likely he wouldn't be leaving the room alive. The sword glinted in the low light, hastening the bokor once he thought of his master card. Reaching into his pocket, Facilier retrieved a small device which very much resembled a travel aerosol can.

"Lawrence?" He called in a falsely kind tone. "Could you come over here a moment?"

Caught off guard, the squat man waddled to stand beside Facilier. A second later, the taller mastermind pressed down on the can while pointing it at Lawrence, spraying a discoloured mist directly into his face. Lawrence yelped at the pungent odour, trying to cover his mouth even though it was already too late.

"I haven't wasted the resources you've given me," Facilier explained, keeping his focus on the unmoving form of the Knight. "In fact I've managed to figure out how to make Voodoo an inhalant, increasing its potency as well. I've got five of these little cans ready, so if this Noble woman tries to get in my way I'll introduce her to her wildest dreams."

Although the Knight's mood could not be discerned through the layers of his costume, Facilier dared to believe the silent killer was satisfied with his improvement on the formula. In the background, Lawrence started whimpering; then sweating, then shrieking. His eyes had glazed over to see what his subconscious yearned for while the powerful hallucinogens in his bloodstream started tampering with his brain functions. Overall, it took two minutes to turn him into a jabbering wreck as he attempted to describe what he could see.

"What of the transmitter?" The Knight enquired over Lawrence's noise. "Have you figured out the range?"

Retrieving the skull talisman, Facilier proudly related his findings over the last fortnight.

"Depending how dead you want this guy, I'll need to be within ten metres," He ordered, running his thumb over the cleaned teeth of the device. "Although I'll also need to know where he'll be and when my opportunities will arise."

Apparently happy, the Knight stood up from the table. He marched back to the window, but not before he swung the sword violently at the insane remnant of Lawrence. It took two strikes to permanently silence the man with neither of the survivors caring for the highest loss a man can experience. Flinging the corpse out of the window, the White Knight paused on his way out.

"I will know by tomorrow evening. Make sure you have enough Voodoo." He warned, before vanishing with a nonchalant leap from the windowsill. Facilier didn't hear him land.

He was too busy planning the attack on a Noble Factory not twelve miles away.

* * *

Dusk was gathering on the horizon as Elsa peeked over the ledge of the building. This area of the mountains was winding down for the night; already a number of shop fronts were locked up and the pavements were thinning of their crowds. There was certainly no one present to see her standing on the rooftop of the tallest building for three miles, dressed in a suit which could only hold onto someone's attention once she had been noticed. Indeed, there was only one person in sight who might have spotted her although he was far more preoccupied with herding a giant dog down an alleyway to do its business against a dumpster. Coincidentally, it was this man she was interested in contacting.

"That's definitely him?" Elsa asked the empty air, straightening the mask which now sat very comfortably against her head.

"Should be," Olaf said into her ear. He had the advantage of watching the cop from numerous angles in the street, as he had managed to access the city's public CCTV system. "Kristoff Bjorgman. You were right, he's only been with the ACPD ten days. He graduated from the academy a month ago. He has a working class background and lives in the southern part of the Mountains, so he might be the guy to ask when it comes to helping them."

"Did you access the Police files?" She questioned, bemused by Olaf's detailed knowledge, He'd only been asked to track the officer down. "I told you not to hack them."

"No, no, Elsa, I'm on his Facebook," Olaf reassured. "I'm actually looking at his Hallowe'en photos. He was a really funky looking reindeer."

Elsa couldn't help but smile at Olaf's glee. Trust him to take this seriously. Then again, she was also listening to Bjorgman loudly bargaining with the dog to pee on a garbage bag for a treat. Perhaps seriousness had gone out the window for the evening, given Elsa was once again taking the mantle of the Arendelle Vigilante.

"Alright, I'm going down," She said, clicking on the small voice-changing gadget Pabbie had mysteriously had the foresight to fit into the mask. "How do I sound?"

"Like Darth Vader." Olaf honestly replied as she vaulted off the rooftop and onto the building's fire escape.

* * *

Kristoff huffed in indignation as Sven, his canine police partner who could follow complex instructions to the letter, looked at him puzzled when he gave a pretty simple command. 'Make' was really a word the animal should understand from birth, but Sven was apparently ignorant of its meaning. Instead, he would gaze at the sky, then at Kristoff, and roll his eyes as if he knew something the officer did not.

"Come on, buddy," Kristoff implored, aware he was meant to be on duty and cruising the evening streets rather than teaching a dog to use the great outdoors as a toilet. "How hard can it be? Really? You've done it in my living room, surely you can do it in the street!"

He covered his face with his hands in frustration, shivering as a cool breeze funnelled down the alleyway. Cursing the difference between what he expected of being a cop and the reality, Kristoff sighed heavily. He failed to notice his breathe leaving him in a great cloud since his eyes were now burrowed in the crook of his elbow.

When he joined the police academy, he had thought he would become one of those friendly public servants or, at a push, a television drama-level detective with a snappy catchphrase. But no. Apparently being a cop was all about mountains of paperwork his colleagues were too lazy to fill out, eating donuts and acting as a pet-sitter. Meanwhile, casts of crooks and criminals were roaming the streets untouched. It was almost like Mayor Weselton _wanted_ an absent police force. Had he even trained an animal to ignore the calls of nature to complicate a double shift unnecessarily? The only interesting case he had looked into recently was when he had briefly questioned that pretty Noble girl. Even then, he was too low ranking to actually do anything himself. He had to wait for the largest detective on the eastern seaboard to get off his flabby ass.

Sven started whining, drawing Kristoff away from his woes and back into focus on the issue. His hands felt surprisingly numb when he dropped them to his sides. The dog began quickly motioning up the back of the alleyway with his nose, barking occasionally.

Finally sensing that Seven was actually trying to tell him something, Kristoff turned to inspect the alley behind him. He had not expected to see a radiant blue woman staring back at him, surrounded by a thick, white layer of frost which sprouted along the walls.

They regarded each other awkwardly for a moment. Neither of them really knew what to do in this situation, although Kristoff believed he should rest one shivering hand on his holster just in case this went south. The glittery woman flexed her palms as well, although she had no visible weapon with which to fight him, if it came to that.

"Hello." The woman finally said in a voice which made Kristoff imagine a female counterpart to James Earl Jones. This was apparently a stupid thing say, as she shook her head to herself afterwards.

"Are you- are you the Vigilante?" Kristoff asked, trying to place details of this costumed crusader with all his briefing information. He doubted she was on her way to a costume party.

"Yes. Yeah, I suppose I must be." The Vigilante replied, again regretting her words.

"You don't sound very sure," He commented, studying the impenetrable mask and the very light hair colour with a critical eye. "Have we met before?"

"If I told you, I wouldn't be a very good Vigilante," She said, although she made an effort to hold his gaze before correcting herself. "No, we haven't met."

"Well, you've only appeared twice before, so you may not be that good," Kristoff pointed out. There was something familiar about the hair, he had definitely seen hair like that recently. "Do you- do you want something?"

When the news of the Arendelle Vigilante had been published, Kristoff had never thought he would personally meet the mad woman. Now that he had, he was disappointed to find the crime-fighting manner not nearly as intimidating as he thought it would be. She also seemed to recognise her inexperience, although the visible portions of her face did not betray the cover over her thoughts or emotions. If he was honest, Kristoff would list this among the strangest conversations he had ever had.

"Yes, there is," The Vigilante answered, trying to take more charge. "I want your help. Give me everything the police knows about a man called Facilier."

"Right. Why?" Kristoff was genuinely confused by what the Vigilante expected of this meeting. He was, after all, instructed to bring her in should the chance arise. This seemed like the perfect opportunity and he reminded her of that by lifting his gun out of the holster.

However, no sooner had he pulled it away from his belt was it torn from his fingers by a glacial force which the Vigilante had thrown his way. Kristoff paused when he realised that the reason the woman didn't carry a weapon was because she could produce _ice from her body_. Sven growled lowly at the woman, who looked just as surprised by what she had done. She managed to speak before Kristoff began the unavoidable question of 'what' and 'how'. Although she was thankful he appeared more intrigued than frightened.

"Because I want to catch this man, and I know you do too," She reasoned, folding her arms to symbolise she would not use the ice power on him. "If we work together, we can put him away. As you can see; I have the power to stop him, I only lack the knowledge and the authority."

Still partially caught up by his fascination with her abilities, Kristoff had to think over her request several times before he had fully processed the implications.

"You mean you want me to work with a wanted criminal, to catch another wanted criminal?" He incredulously asked. "Which, by extension, makes me a criminal?"

"I know it's a lot to ask, but it would be mutually beneficial," She implored, stepping towards him. "You would receive the credit for stopping him, and I will know people are safe from him."

"Sorry, you think I want the credit?" Kristoff was angered by this generalisation of his character. "I want to keep people are safe as well. But I didn't throw on a tight ski suit and put four people in the hospital last month, and I have a badge to say I _can_ put people in the hospital if I really need to do."

The Vigilante was about to argue back when a hazy voice cut over the quiet alley. Night had fallen by now, limiting how much Kristoff could see as he grappled with his uniform to find his radio.

"_All units, all units. An armed robbery is taking place at a pharmacy on west twentieth and nineteenth. Assistance required. Please respond."_

Gritting his teeth, Kristoff looked at the Vigilante directly in the eye as he clicked the response button which cut out the hushed static.

"Bjorgman on route, repeat; Bjorgman on route." He said loudly, before reattaching it to his belt and grabbing Sven's collar. "I'll let you go this time, but if I see you again I'm going to arrest you."

With that, he managed to drag the large dog with him back to the car and race off towards twentieth and nineteenth with his sirens blaring. The last he saw, the Vigilante had started climbing up the fire-escape of the building they had been stood beside.

* * *

"That did not go to plan." Elsa dejectedly bemoaned as she ran across the rooftops and leaped some of the thinner gaps. When it came to a crossing she had to pause and form a slim bridge of ice to carry on in the same direction. By her calculations, even though she was slower than the police car if she could keep this pace up on a roughly straight path she would reach the crime before Bjorgman.

"Did you have a plan for this deal?" Pabbie asked, having taken the microphone from Olaf while the younger man found street cameras outside the attacked pharmacy.

"No, I didn't!" She admitted, vaulting off an exterior ventilation shaft onto a taller neighbour building.

"You need to approach this like a business deal," Pabbie recommended, blissfully not gasping for air like Elsa was. "Show him you're just as serious and capable as he is. You're more than capable anyway, it shouldn't be too hard."

If she had counted correctly, Elsa had met Bjorgman at seventh between eleventh and twelfth, and had already reached twentieth and fourteenth. There were only five more blocks to cover. Down below, she heard the police sirens of a single police cruiser overtake her. Beyond this, she couldn't hear any other emergency vehicles. It appeared Kristoff Bjorgman was the only person to respond to the cry for help, which did not differ from her expectations at all.

"Elsa! I have a visual on the pharmacy!" Olaf interrupted, taking back the microphone for her earpiece. "There're two guys in brown trench coats, I think they only have revolvers but they're making off with the money."

Leaping over another alley, Elsa counted that she only had three blocks now. A stitch was beginning to burn in her side and her ribcage was aching from the exertion, although she did not let up.

"Kristoff's engaging them," Olaf reported. Not too far away, Elsa could see the red and blue lights stop moving as a tiny silhouette leapt out of the vehicle. Gunshots echoed down the roads. "Uh-oh! Kristoff hasn't got his gun!"

Remembering Bjorgman's weapon was lying in a block of ice a mile away, Elsa pushed herself even harder to reach the crime. His lack of weapon was her fault, and she would be damned if he came to any harm because of her.

Deciding she was too slow on foot, she jumped down the nearest fire-escape into an alley. Cracking her knuckles, Elsa unleashed a blast of snow onto the pavement and kicked off into the road as a slick layer of ice formed underfoot. A car was approaching from her right, which would take her in the direction of the pharmacy, so Elsa grabbed onto the rear bumper with one hand while she continued producing a cold track for her to travel on. Immediately she gained another ten miles an hour and when her ride slowed down at the next set of lights she propelled herself across using her own strength in conjunction with the power of the engine.

She managed to catch up with a turning biker, and using the same plan as before kept up the pace. The visored helmet twisted around to see her, but the flashing lights of Bjorgman's car were much nearer now. Dragging herself up the body of the bike, she grabbed the brake so that the source of her momentum would cease but she would be thrown forwards to the danger.

Whilst making this final crossing, Elsa counted up the gun blasts she had heard so far. There had been nine, and if Olaf was correct there would only be twelve bullets available. Evidently Bjorgman had managed to keep them busy whilst floundering for a weapon to fight back with.

Passing the police car, the situation became clearer. Bjorgman had been taking cover with the dog behind the trunk of the vehicle, periodically appearing over the top and pretending to take aim with a gun that wasn't really there. The thieves, in turn, had been firing on him but had ineptly failed to put any distance between them. Obviously their aim was much better in closer quarters and Bjorgman had made the same realisation about the capacity of their guns. He may have even intended for the echoing gunshots to summon back up. Elsa was the closest he was going to get.

In the second when one of the robbers fired his final bullet, she pushed herself into its path. The bullet collided with her suit and its force was absorbed quite harmlessly. Tucking herself into a shoulder roll, Elsa then set about reducing her speed whilst the thieves turned on her. She came to an eventual stop at the edge of the opposite pavement and wasted no time in turning to face her opponents.

Another bullet punched her upper arm, thankfully having travelled enough distance to prevent her feeling much pain. In return she covered the ground around her in frost, which one of the thieves slipped on. The other, who happened to be the only one with a loaded weapon, wasted his last shot on her stomach. This time, the impact was enough to wind her slightly. But Elsa stood tall and flung an icicle with far greater accuracy to cut through the outside of his thigh. He yelped at the flesh wound and fell over when he lifted his foot.

She ran across to meet the uninjured foe, who was busy regaining his feet. Kneeling at his side, Elsa snaked one arm between his shins and sharply drew back. He fell again, but this time Elsa landed an expert strike to his temple. It was unlikely he would be getting up for a while.

The remaining criminal was hobbling to his feet, and she was more than prepared to tackle him back as well but a smelly mass pounced from her. Bjorgman's dog knocked the thief back to the earth, almost consciously putting his weight on the long cut to keep the man subdued.

Then Bjorgman was on him, with a pair of handcuffs clicking as he recited the crook's rights.

Elsa panted, feeling her pulse pound in her head whilst the spots where the bullets struck her throbbed uncomfortably. Her breath came heavily and her fingers were shaking from what was possibly the most she had used her powers in years. A good few hundred metres had been covered with her snow in the last few minutes. Admittedly, she was completely exhausted by the use.

"You could have been shot." Bjorgman said, suddenly beside her and assisting her to standing.

"So could you." She retorted, feeling slightly queasy with an uncomfortable head rush.

More sirens ironically started resonating across the Mountains. It was only when the job was done did the Arendelle Police actually turn up.

Bjorgman's face was a portrait of confliction when he heard them. Elsa realised he could turn around and arrest her now if he so wished. The dog watched him with imploring eyes. There was also something in the sceptical features of the cop which hadn't shown in their earlier conversation. Solidarity? Trust? Belief?

"I'll work with you," He quietly agreed, looking around for anyone who might witness their friendly interaction. Thankfully the public had kept to a safe perimeter due to the errant gunfire. "What do you need and when?"

Spotting a new set of red-and-blue florescence ahead of them, Elsa pushed away from her new ally to find the nearest alley to hide escape through.

"I'll find you." She promised before she resumed her sprint towards the most convenient rooftop, leaving Bjorgman to wonder what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

**So how was Kristoff's first appearance?**

**Please review.**


	10. The Voodoo Plot - Part Three

**Sorry, this one took slightly longer than normal. It's only a day, but I can see this as the start of my routine slipping and soon this entire story could fall into sporadic updates. Yikes.**

**I feel like I should answer a few questions which have been posed to me in the reviews. Firstly, to JJ12; no. Anna isn't intended to be the Lois Lane, despite my misleading narrative. I couldn't think of any other reason why Elsa might take up the superhero mantle if it wasn't a result of threats to her family. Anna will be playing a more active role in chapters to come, because, let's face it, she's going to want to know who her saviour was. **

**Which leads me to my second answer. FrozenFanatic and a Guest have asked about Anna discovering Elsa is the Vigilante. Well, not to give the game away, but Anna probably won't be finding out for a long while yet.**

**Once again, a huge thanks for your continued support and readership. It means the world to me that you enjoy my horrible writing.**

**This chapter has a WARNING of drugs and possibly disturbing imagery (although I'm not that good, you'd really have to judge for yourself). **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

In the early afternoon the following day, Anna wandered the long hallways of her childhood home with sleep-heavy feet and a loud yawn. After waiting most of the evening for Elsa to return from her meeting, the sisters had made a few preliminary arrangements for Prince Naveen's stay. These included the tidying of a dusty bedroom in the southern wing of the house, a plan of what he should do when he was not investigating the company, and, of the utmost importance to Anna, the organisation of the party for the last night of his visit. One hundred invitations, many of which had been listed by Elsa as board-members, investors or shareholders, had been emailed off at midnight. It was not long after that they had both retired to bed.

When Gerda had eventually felt safe enough to wake them, Anna had automatically checked her inbox for responses from the few guests who weren't business associates. Pabbie, as expected, had replied in the affirmative (although he technically fell into both categories of invitee) and Anna was delighted to find a highly ecstatic response from Olaf. She had only met the strange little man once; shortly before her abduction, but he had introduced himself as someone she would like to know. Elsa always spoke about him with the highest fondness. Of Anna's own friends, there was as yet no reply. Although it was likely Hans would attend due to his input in the organisation of the party. The only other, the Nobles' cousin from Corona, was more of a wildcard in this respect.

Anna had always found that relative's subservience to a particularly nasty nanny unnerving, but hoped she would be able to come regardless. In all fairness there had only been two days' notice.

Among the responses Anna was not so happy with was a promised, near-unanimous attendance of Elsa's board of directors. It was difficult for Anna to imagine her sister putting up with those stuffy tycoons for most of the week at work, let alone in her home. Duke Weselton had also replied in the positive, with a disturbingly familiar assurance of practicing his dancing. Those groups alone made the young woman plan several escape routes through the mansion should she be caught in conversation with them.

Finally making it to the dining hall, Anna was unsurprised to find Elsa already finishing her brunch. What did surprise her, however, was her elder sister's obvious fatigue. Had Elsa slept a wink in the twelve intervening hours between when she went to her room and now? Was this a result of her exercise regime? Normally she was well rested and alert, instead of slouching on the table top with a far-off look in her eyes.

"Are you with me?" Anna asked teasingly as she took a seat to the blonde's left.

"Please don't engage me in complex conversation," Elsa sleepily drawled in response, resting her head in one hand. "Any questions requiring answers further than 'yes' or 'no' will not be appreciated."

"You could've just said 'no', then." The redhead replied, fully concerned by Elsa's tiredness. Then a maid brought the sisters cereal and coffee.

Like a shot, Elsa had poured as much of the hot drink into a mug as possible and drank it all in one. Anna could only watch in shock while she felt the scalding heat radiating through her own mug.

"Didn't that _burn_?" She puzzled, sipping at the cup and finding the coffee like lava against her lips.

Elsa clasped her eyes shut, shuddering as the slight pain she experienced diffused through her to a state of true consciousness. Taking the box of _Lucky Charms_, she managed to pile the wheat and marshmallow shapes high enough to exceed the rim on her bowl. As far as Anna could tell this was Elsa's second helping of breakfast, although the fruit bowl also looked uncharacteristically empty.

Watching Elsa stuff herself with morning foods managed to put the younger girl off her meal, partially from the sheer speed the blonde went through it. This behaviour was now beginning to really worry Anna and it was only when Elsa noticed the perturbed stare that she stopped flicking her spoon back to explain.

"Sorry, I haven't eaten much in the last few days and last night's… run left me starving." She quickly said, hesitating at the point she mentioned her outing. Anna got the distinct impression Elsa was lying.

"You went running?" Anna replied. She knew not to call her sister out on the false story. Although it hurt her that Elsa wouldn't share a trivial board meeting, she could respect that privacy may be paramount. It was possible last night's meeting concerned the break with the Westerguard Industries merger and _that _was something Anna didn't want to be caught in the middle of. Especially not when she had connections to both figureheads involved. "Weren't you at the company?"

Elsa's eyes widened, although she tried to mask this with a sip of coffee. The scalding drink hadn't hurt her previously, somehow, so Anna couldn't see a reason why it should now.

"Yeah, yes, I was," Elsa explained, rubbing the bridge of her nose with perpetually gloved fingers. "But Goddard and Jameson were running late, so I took the chance to go jogging. It's quite nice around the plaza, in the evening. Any news on the ball?"

In the years she had been left wandering the mansion, Anna failed to learn many of the cues of nervousness in other people. But she had always been able to see when Elsa didn't want to disclose certain information. By the look of it, the information Elsa was trying to hide _was_ linked to the meeting. And, as she had assumed, it only made sense it was a problem with Hans.

Anna had never entirely understood the unilateral animosity between Elsa and Hans. Mr and Mrs Westerguard had been quite friendly with their parents, so Hans was introduced to the girls at an early age. He had certainly always had a semi-presence in Anna's life, meaning it could only be expected Elsa knew him from maybe three-years-old. In all nineteen years of her life, Anna had never heard her sister mention her best friend in a favourable fashion. Hans, on the other hand, didn't seem to bear any similar grudges towards the blonde. This was only one of the many mysteries her sister represented.

"We've got about twenty coming so far," Anna counted in her head and indulging Elsa's deception for the meantime. She couldn't be hiding anything _that _big. "Given that's just this morning, I think we'll have a large turn out."

Elsa gave a less than enthusiastic hum at the idea of that many people entering her private retreat, although she was unable to voice her reservations as the doorbell chimed. The echoing tones sounded across the building to alert both residents and staff to a new arrival. This caught both women by surprise. It had been discussed before they went to sleep that Hans would be making an appearance around three, while it was currently only half-twelve. Unless Elsa had a package being delivered, Anna couldn't think of who would be paying the out of the way residence a visit.

They were not left in suspense long, as Tiana entered the room at a slow jog. Her appearance was impeccable as ever, even though she had spent the entire morning preparing the ingredients for every meal Prince Naveen would be having. The only feature to betray her hectic practice was perhaps her breathlessness as she reached the table. From her expression it could be seen that she did not appreciate her work being interrupted.

"Miss Noble," She said in that lyrical New Orleans accent, with only a reserved _huff_ of annoyance. "The CIA is here. Were you expecting them?"

Before Anna had barely had time to process this information, Elsa had snapped to her feet and was hurrying to the entrance hall. It hadn't occurred to either of them that were both still in their pyjamas. Of course, Elsa had chosen a set which would make her far more presentable for the coming conversation; a silk set with a thick dressing gown. However, Anna felt it would be best she stayed just behind the door seeing as all she had on was a tank top and loose flannel shorts.

Standing so that she could peek around the door, Anna found herself looking at a man who could quite possibly be the most intimidating man she had ever seen. He stood nearly a head taller than Elsa, although Oaken could have still dwarfed him. His suit was of an indiscriminate black which screamed authority but was equally capable of blending into a crowd without question. There was not a single hair on his head, and his face was pulled in such a stern face that Anna found it difficult to imagine this man could smile. The theme music of _Men In Black_ played in her head upon sight.

Elsa, even if she was aware of his daunting presence, did not show any sign of reluctance in meeting him. She held herself as she would in any other meeting; back straight, eyes level and cotton-covered fingers weaved together in front of her.

"Good morning, Agent…?" Elsa said, as if she hadn't been tired or ravenous not five minutes before.

"Bubbles. Cobra Bubbles." He replied in a voice that may have never laughed.

"Agent Bubbles. How may I be of service?" She asked, ears twitching when she heard Anna giggle in the background.

Drawing a sheet of paper from his inside pocket, Bubbles handed it to her as he stepped further into the hall.

"I have been informed that you will be hosting a European Royal, Miss Noble," He said commandingly. "Normally a diplomat of such high ranking would be housed in Washington, however since this is a business matter the government has chosen not to interfere with Prince Naveen's visit to Arendelle. Nevertheless, the CIA have a very keen interest in our relationship with Maldonia and I have been dispatched to ensure security is up to a specific standard so that no harm may come to the Prince. It has not gone unnoticed that another gifted individual has stolen the headlines in recent weeks."

From her spot, studying the scene through the crack between the double doors, Anna thought she saw Elsa pale slightly at the reference. She did not like how the Vigilante was mentioned as a criminal and she assumed that her sister also recognised that without the hero Anna would not be standing there. More news had come out on her Facebook newsfeed that the Vigilante had stopped a robbery and saved a police officer the night before. It seemed impossible this woman was a public menace.

"I am sure you can understand if I asked to have free reign for the next few hours to make sure there is no threat to the Prince." The way Bubbles made the request was obviously not a question, although there was no way Elsa could refuse anyway. She only had one complaint on the matter.

"Couldn't you have called ahead? Surely the CIA would have given me a chance to clean up first." Elsa asked, drawing attention briefly to her state of undress.

"Our Agents contacted your secretary at the Noble Corporation once we became aware of the arrangement," Bubbles explained, already studying the points of entry to the room. "He booked a date as late as possible, although this could be an inconvenience as Prince Naveen's flight is only four hours away."

Anna could have sworn she felt the temperature of the room lower dramatically at this elaboration. Although, having lived in this house all her life and experiencing chills of this kind periodically, she assumed it was only a bizarre draft. There wasn't any other realistic theory to account for the phenomenon.

Elsa looked indignant and angry, made notable to Anna by her statue-like stance in the perfect line of vision through the crack.

"Will I be required to stay for the security investigation?" She asked levelly, keeping her eyes fixed on where Anna supposed Bubbles was standing.

"Your presence is not necessary. As a public figure the FBI has been able to supply us with a background file. You are a low concern," Bubbles answered from somewhere towards the staircase. "Although I would like to interview your sister. It may not be surprising to hear the news of her collapse and its likely cause has reached us already."

Again, Anna was vaguely aware there was a dip in the summer heat. But this time she was far more focussed on the muddying of her name. Had the rumours already broken out that she had been drugged? Did people think she had willingly taken them? Anna felt a chill run down to her fingertips at the very thought. Not again.

"Well, I shall inform her of this presently," Elsa reluctantly agreed, sparing the door Anna was hiding behind a glance. "And then if you don't mind I think I have some business to attend to in the city."

* * *

Roughly an hour later, Elsa stormed into the entrance hub of North Mount Station in a tired whirl of snow. After a quick dressing and succinct explanation to Anna, she had wasted no time in hurrying to the old facility on her father's motorbike. There wasn't anything official planned for the day, apart from receiving Prince Naveen when he arrived and finding out which idiot arranged the meeting with the CIA inside the company, so she had decided to retreat to the subterranean sanctuary to pass a few hours. While she could have gone anywhere in the city she had felt particularly irked by Bubbles casual mention of the FBI's file on her.

The highly secretive organisations couldn't know about her powers, could they? It wasn't possible they were observing her all the time? They certainly didn't hold jurisdiction in Norway, nor had they had the presence during her childhood to find out. Elsa could only reason with herself that they had kept records on her qualifications and political leanings, which were ambivalent to say the least. All they probably cared about was whether she had a death wish for Naveen. No, it was unlikely they knew the truth. Not about her genetics or how she had been spending her evenings since her return.

Nevertheless, Elsa felt more secure once she had unlocked the bolted metal door at the end of the descending corridor. In here she could release the tension of her frozen fury slightly, kicking up a small blizzard in the breezeless space. These fluctuations in her powers were still playing on her mind. Twice during her conversation with Bubbles she had nearly slipped in panic or anger, and she could have sworn he noticed the temperature drop each time. There had to be some explanation for it. And where there was an explanation there was also, normally, a way to reverse it.

A surprised cough pulled her out of her reverie, and Elsa was shocked to find Olaf sat at his computer terminal, spluttering on the thick flakes which whirled around the room erratically. At will, she dropped the wind which carried the flurry. He blinked away what moisture clung to his eyelashes, his cheery smile returning amongst his splutters.

"What are you doing here?" Elsa asked once Olaf had regained his breath.

"Morning!" He cried, turning the majority of his attention back to the computer. While she only spared the screen a quick glance, Elsa quickly noticed that the monitor was brand new and the old, frozen tower had been replaced by a touchscreen desktop. "I'm just trying to install an earpiece app so me and Pabbie don't have to keep passing the microphone between us!"

Staring around the room, Elsa found almost all of the old appliances had been updated. Indeed, some of the furniture had been rearranged to make the space more functional as a Vigilante base. Needless to say, she was confused and concerned by how seriously her crime fighting companions took her campaign. It wasn't as if she planned on doing this permanently. Her aim was to catch Facilier, and then all of this nonsense would be left behind

Spotting what she should have seen automatically, Elsa trod through the freshly fallen snow to inspect the latest feature. While before the centre of the room had been left empty to allow swift passage to the deeper sections, the chamber was now dominated by a pedestal on which stood a mannequin. Worse still, the plastic feminine shape was clad in one of the other blue suits Pabbie had stowed away on the platforms and was completed by, peculiarly, a copy of the elongated domino mask. Evidently the old man had more than one of the disguise.

"What do you think?!" Olaf asked excitedly, rising from his chair and standing beside her in admiration.

"Wh- What is this?" Elsa questioned, caught completely off-guard by the unnecessary changes.

Olaf, mistaking Elsa's alarm for wonder, trotted hurriedly around the plastic figure to the opposite side of the room. All of the desks had been removed to allow enough space to get around the display, and in their place was an expanse of wall dedicated to the large, slim, wall-mounted screens normally reserved for laboratories and boardrooms at the Noble Corporation. He fiddled with the wires on the edge of the chain of screens briefly before flicking a switch and bringing them into life with stark colours.

Elsa was bombarded with a retina, wall-to-wall display of every fact Olaf had managed to dig up on Facilier; including a map of spots within the city he had been sighted at and the police photograph from his first arrest. All of the information was lost on Elsa, who was still coming to terms with the massive investment put into the dilapidated Research Facility.

"What do you think?!" Olaf repeated, even more enthusiastic given the reveal of his work.

"Olaf," Elsa said sternly, although still shocked. "What is all of this?"

The short man pulled a mildly confused expression at her concern, glancing at all the changes to the hub with an equal but different air of disbelief.

"It's your lair," He stated unsurely. "Your ice cave. Your Ice Palace!"

"No. No, Olaf," Elsa objected, feeling terrible for ruining his child-like excitement. "This is too much. I want this place low-key and ready to be abandoned again should anything go wrong. Now it looks like an arctic version of the Apple Store and anyone who stumbles in will know this is where the Vigilante is based. Where did you even _get _these?"

"He got them from me." The familiar, aged voice of Pabbie exclaimed from the rear corridor.

When Pabbie hobbled his way over to the duo, he looked almost deflated. His shoulders sagged and he didn't quite pick his feet up with each weary step. Additionally, there were heavy bags under his eyes, along with the overwhelming stench of black coffee. Even if Elsa had been a complete stranger she would be able to tell he had just pulled an all-nighter.

"Why?" Elsa questioned, suddenly overcome with her supposed mentor's near-supernatural knowledge. She had to know what he had been doing towards the entire endeavour. "Where did _you_ get this stuff?"

"While Goddard is bent on making cutbacks in research, he is more than happy to buy superfluous equipment. These computers have been sitting in the basement of the Noble Tower for the past year, so last night I thought I might liberate a few to aid Olaf," Pabbie reasonably explained, leaning against the wall at the end of one of the mighty displays and retrieving a flash drive from his waistcoat pocket. "And before you get scared about discovery, do not worry. No one ever checks our technology store and the equipment has technically not left company grounds."

"And where did you get the masks?"

Pabbie's tired face was drawn in an expression of misunderstanding. He honestly hadn't been expecting Elsa to ask about the accessories and was rather unsure of how to answer.

"From my house," He slowly revealed, although Elsa could swear she saw a glimmer of reluctance and mystery behind his eyes. "They've been sitting in a cupboard for the past decade."

"But why do they fit me so well?" Elsa was determined to try to break through. No matter how much logic or acceptance there was to Pabbie's answers, there was something going on and she wanted to know now.

Pabbie sighed, fatigue dripping from his voice as he tried to form a coherent sentence. "I just thought they would. They were your mother's, after all."

Elsa felt almost physically wounded by the mention of Idunn Noble in conjunction with her secret identity. Embarrassment dully simmered beneath the surface of her skin. It would make sense if those masks had belonged to her mother once upon a time. Many people had noted how Elsa was the reincarnation of Idunn whilst she was growing up and it would only stand to reason that the old masks would fit her, if only roughly.

"Are you alright, Elsa?" Pabbie asked when she failed to respond to his answer.

Swallowing her paranoia for the moment, Elsa gave an affirming nod.

"Good," Pabbie agreed hesitantly, before moving back to the wall-length analysis of Facilier. "Because I think I've figured out where we might find your target. I spent all night looking at forensic reports on Voodoo, and it may be that Facilier was behind your pharmacy robbery last night."

On the electronic map of Arendelle, a number of navy blue markers appeared across various streets. There were fourteen in total and they were all spread in an abstract semi-circle around the Mountains, into the leisure district and back around to the manufacturing parks where the Noble factories were based. An address appeared beside each marker, identifying every location as a pharmacy or somewhere prescriptions could be picked up.

"I asked Olaf to search for any similar reports since Facilier's first appearance, and we found that there have been randomly placed robberies around the city every night for the last fortnight," Pabbie explained, as a computer-generated image of what Elsa assumed was a Voodoo molecule appeared beside the map. "From all those scientific analyses of impure Voodoo, it would appear to me that it's made up of less common painkillers and benzodiazepines. A few versions of anxiolytic compounds were in there as well. Now, none of the medicines required to make pure Voodoo can be found in regular pharmacies, but I would assume this spike in crime is not a coincidence."

"So Facilier's been keeping his supplies steady, even though his products aren't as strong?" Elsa surmised, studying the information and the dealer's progression across the city. The path of robbery generally led in the same direction, pointing to one site in particular. "There's a Noble manufacturing plant on the edge of town. They make that kind of medication there. Do you think that's where he'll strike next?

"If not there, then somewhere in the general area," Pabbie concurred. "And even if he sends 'representatives' like last night, we can always follow them back to Facilier."

Elsa nodded thoughtfully. By tomorrow, she could have caught the scoundrel and put him behind bars. She felt a certain amount of satisfaction rise in her chest at the thought, knowing her pride once she had done so would be immense. Finally, she may be beginning to pay off some of her debt to Anna, after all those years of abandonment.

"Should we call that officer?" Olaf asked, having retreated to his desk.

"Bjorgman? No, not yet," Pabbie recommended. "We don't know how sincere he was about joining Elsa. I think we should only call him if and when we need something."

"Make sure we can contact him at a moment's notice," Elsa commanded, striding to the back corridor in search of a suitable room for practice. "If you need me, I'll be on platform nine, rehearsing my kicks."

* * *

As evening drew in on the Noble Estate, Anna found herself awaiting the arrival of Prince Naveen surrounded by staff and in the company of Hans, but lonely without Elsa. She had no idea where her sister had rushed off to, but six hours later and there was still no sign of the athletic CEO making an appearance. The absence was actually beginning to both worry and aggravate the young redhead, who had fallen into the unlikely position of receiving a future King to her childhood home. This was not a role she had ever expected to be in.

At the far end of the driveway, a long, black car smoothly inched its way along the gravel under an escort of police cars. No figures could be made out as of yet, but the expected guest was fast approaching.

"Are you as excited as I am?" Hans murmured from beside her, eyes fixed on the car but fidgeting with his shirt cuffs nonetheless.

He had really pulled out all the stops for his presentation, stood there in a slick ivory evening suit, complete with gloves and a sash. There was an old family rumour Anna had heard from one of his brothers that the Westerguards were descended from royalty themselves. She hadn't really listened to the tale of Germanic states and adultery and family trees (she was barely interested in her own heritage), but Hans liked to indulge himself in faux-royal materials. While he was a typical, rich, twenty-five-year-old bachelor, he was well versed in all the responsibilities of a royal. Sometimes Anna couldn't figure out how serious he was about some of his practices, but if it made him happy she couldn't see any harm in it.

When he had arrived earlier the afternoon, Hans had almost been denied access to Naveen by Cobra Bubbles, who had been very sceptical of his connection with the Noble household. After undergoing a gruelling interview much like Anna did, he had finally been cleared to spend time with the Prince without having to be watched by security. For a few moments he had looked almost frightened that he might miss out on a Maldonian meal.

"Maybe not quite." Anna replied, watching the sleek vehicle finally pull up outside the porch.

All was silent for a few seconds, apart from an impatient _cough_ from Tiana. She was eager to return to her cooking, having spent most of the day perfecting Maldonian cuisine. Gerda gave her a stern look to prompt her back into the quiet.

Then a door popped open and, after a bulky security guard stretched to his feet, the handsome face of Prince Naveen sprung from the confines of the car in an example of his reportedly boundless energy. He was somewhere between Elsa and Hans in terms of age, but his tan face had all the experience of a thirty-year-old while his grin was boyish and rebellious. His regal uniform was also far grander than anything Hans could have worn; imbued with gold and white and green which shimmered in the lowering sun. Those brown eyes twinkled with merriment, and he at once was the perfect paradox between adult freedom and Kingly duty, Although one was obviously more dominant.

"Prince Naveen, how wonderful to meet you." Anna said, trying to imagine what Elsa might do if she were here. Her disappearance continued to plague Anna as she offered her hand.

"'Ello!" Naveen replied, gripping Anna's hand and shaking it warmly before doing the same to Hans. "Et es wonderful to be 'ere. You are Elsa, no?"

"Oh! No, I'm just her sister, Anna." She humbly introduced, at once embarrassed by the mix up. "Elsa… has unfortunately had to attend some business."

"Zhere es no 'just' about you, Anna," Naveen was very quick to up her spirits again in spite of his surprise. Behind him his bodyguards collected his suitcases, of which there were many. "My thanks for 'osting me. I 'ave been told you were not aware I was coming until late. Allow me to apologise for zhe imposition."

"No, don't worry," Anna assured, flexing her fingers nervously. "There's more than enough room. You'll have you own wing and everything."

"Marvellous! Marvellous!" He cried, following Anna and Hans into the hallway with the staff filtering in behind them. The bodyguards were immediately led to the Prince's quarters whilst their master was enraptured by the classical architecture and antique decoration, with a polished harp in the far corner of the room grabbing his attention. "Do you play?"

It seemed almost as if Naveen was as clueless to the proceedings as Anna was. Hans hung like a phantom near them, watching Naveen's every action like a teenage girl might watch a boyband. Several words sat on the edge of his tongue, but none could make themselves dominant over all the other questions.

"No, it was my grandmother's, actually," Anna answered, watching the Prince pluck a few strings in a well-practiced manner. "I'm none very musical. I think Elsa used to play some piano. Can you play?"

"I am more fond of ze guitar. I am en love with your Jazz culture," Naveen denied, although his skills said otherwise. "My brother es being tutored on ze harp. He would love to visit this place."

"Maybe one day he can." Anna offered, at once regretting her words when she thought of Elsa. But, then again Elsa hadn't shown up to welcome _this _guest and left Anna in an awkward position. Was it possible Naveen had heard about her collapse the day before? Did he believe the rumours?

Thankfully, Tiana appeared at her elbow at the moment, patiently waiting for her moment to interject. She looked at the Prince disinterestedly. When he noticed her, it was nowhere near the same reaction. Anna felt it as pretty safe to Tiana had piqued Naveen's interest, by the way he suddenly stood tall and put on what was obviously a rehearsed, sly smile. It was almost embarrassing to witness, as when the chef glanced at him she rolled her eyes and decided to address her words to Anna instead.

"Miss Noble, dinner is ready to be served if it pleases you." Tiana said, holding her professional at-attention stance.

In response, Anna's stomach growled almost angrily. After Bubbles had arrived there had been no chance for her to have lunch or sneak a bar of chocolate under the stress of the inspection. Now would be the absolute perfect time for one of Tiana's lavish meals.

"I could definitely eat. Are you hungry?" Anna asked, looking back to Hans and the Prince before hesitantly adding. "Your majesty."

"I could eat. What es zhere?" Naveen agreed, keeping his eyes on Tiana with those intent flirtatious eyes

"Tonight, I am serving a Maldonian Roast of Pork with a Mediterranean salad and a bottle of Bordeaux '59 red," Tiana quickly recounted, itching to return to her kitchen. "For dessert, I have prepared honeyed beignets."

"Zat es nice," He reluctantly replied, diverting his eyes as his confidence left him momentarily. "But I was 'oping zhere might be a pizza? Personally, well, I 'ave never liked the food of my country."

To say Tiana looked like she had just been slapped was an understatement. Her mouth fell agape at his words. Never had someone refused her efforts so casually, nor outright insulted the food she had made without so much as tasting it. She gasped slightly, and with a small nod from Anna, she marched away while stewing in anger

Anna herself was caught by surprise at Naveen's disregard of the dishes Tiana had spent the last two days tirelessly researching and perfecting the complex sauces which made Maldonia distinct from other European foods. The man may be charming on the outside, but he was, perhaps stereotypically, as rude as the old moneyed were thought to be. At the very least, he could have stomached the food he didn't like and order a pizza tomorrow; just to be diplomatic.

Hans, however, thought differently.

"Your majesty, I know a great pizza place that does deliveries," He finally spoke to the Prince, ignorant of the insult in his admiring stupor. "I'll get a selection, if you want?"

"My friend!" Naveen laughed, shaking his hand again. "Wonderful! Allow me to go change, zhen I want to 'ear all about life in Arendelle!"

Anna groaned internally, again wondering just where Elsa could be that was more important than her meeting with the Prince of Maldonia.

* * *

At the exact same moment Naveen was settling into his stay at the Noble Estate, Elsa raced along the deserted roads in the industrial wastelands on the roaring motorbike. Her suit sparkled in the dying light, although no one was present to spot her shimmering form as she sped across the grey business parks and mostly abandoned area to her destination. In the middle distance the Noble Manufacturing Plant loomed into being. It had closed for the day, but the gates were still wide open to allow for the last few deliveries. But only one truck sat in the loading bay and she knew these people weren't employed by the Corporation.

Weaving the vintage bike off of the road and onto the cracked pavement, Elsa pulled to a halt once she was far away enough to hide the engine's chugging but close enough to close the distance before they could get away. She hid the bike under a nearby pile of tarpaulin before jogging on through the warm evening air.

"_Elsa, Anna's called you three times!"_ Olaf unhelpfully reported through her earpiece. _"Should I send her a text or something?"_

Cursing under her breath, Elsa stopped on the corner just outside the barbed fences. She didn't have a watch on her, but it was more than obvious she had missed her guests arrival and Anna, who she had even notified, was left to entertain royalty. It really hadn't been her intention, but once Olaf had found a group of masked robbers pulling into the factory loading bay there really hadn't been another choice if she wanted to stop Facilier. The after-work traffic had already resorted her to a long detour to avoid detection, so it was only luck that the trespassers hadn't escaped yet. Evidently they were taking a copious amount of medicine.

"Use my phone, tell her I'm stuck in another meeting," Elsa ordered, rushing across the exposed space and the parking lot of the factory. "Make sure to complain about Goddard. How many people are in there?"

There was a brief pause as Olaf divided his attention between typing out a convincing message from '_Elsa_' and counting all of the robbers across the various screens. In this time Elsa had managed to unlock the door using her master key and slip inside the mopped lobby. Unfortunately, there was still a janitor wiping down the surfaces of the reception desk.

Thinking quickly, Elsa clicked on her voice distorting gadget inside her mask before throwing a small icicle past the cleaner. He jumped upon realising he was not alone, and gave a sharp yell when he spotted the radiant blue Vigilante.

"Get out. Now!" She urged.

He didn't need to be told twice. The mop clattered to the damp floor as the door burst open and shut in the space a second. It did not go unnoticed that he had pulled out his cell phone once he was beyond the door. In maybe quarter of an hour the police would be here. If they thought this journey worthwhile.

"_Eight!"_ Olaf finally supplied. "_They're all in the warehouse! Hang on… Elsa! Facilier is with them!"_

Without another word she broke into a sprint down the long halls. If she could get to him now and neutralise him, then she could go back to her life of business. The silliness of running around in a costume could be over. Of course, there wasn't anything to stop her from returning to duty in the future. Should an immensely dangerous man such as Facilier ever appear in Arendelle again there would certainly be a Vigilante reputation to contend with. For now, however, Elsa would just focus on beating down a known drug dealer. Deliberations on her role in the city could be left for later.

Finding the entrance to the production lines, she continued pelting her way across the building. Each footstep landed silently on the cushioned soles but let a frosted print behind it. Ice begin to spread on the metal rails and machinery in her path; a factor which may soon announce her presence to her foes. That didn't matter though. She could call on a blizzard if she needed to.

"_Elsa,"_ Pabbie firmly said into her ear. "_Do not fly into a confrontation. Make sure to check your surroundings. You do not want to _hurt_ anyone_."

The awful thing was that Elsa _did_ want to hurt Facilier. She wanted to freeze him solid for what he tried to do. Even more so when considering that Anna hadn't even been a specific target. Her sister had just been a random victim on the street, just as anyone could be. That evil man had to be punished.

"_There's a goon coming from your left_." Olaf informed her suddenly.

There was a hint of a Mardi Gras mask between the structures of the machines. He was close, so Elsa grabbed onto the nearest pipe and swung herself around the corner. She slammed both feet into his chest, sending the bulky man rolling onto his back with short breath. Without stopping to think, Elsa leapt to straddle his chest before pressing her elbow into a specific point on his throat. The man struggled for a few moments, then his eyes slid back and he was unconscious. One down, seven and Facilier to go.

"Where's the next one?" Elsa asked, keeping her eyes on the open alleys of cold metal.

"_The rest are all in the loading bay! They're trying to get a few crates into their truck! Two lefts and the third right!"_

Acting on autopilot, Elsa closed the distance. The hoarfrost which grew around her crackled with every step, engulfing the factory in snow and wind. In just half an hour, she could be out of here with one Dr Facilier left behind. It took all her will not to fidget and look intimidating for her confrontation. Probably not even half an hour. Twenty minutes, maybe. Fifteen is she called down an arctic storm. She wasn't sure whether she could do that, but now would be a nice time to find out.

She heard the laughter before she spotted them. There was fewer than Olaf had counted; barely enough to shift the heavy wooden boxes across the small gap into the truck. They all wore stylised masks in the form of colourful skulls, except for Elsa's main target who stood above them all supervising. His face was covered with a simple bone-shaded half mask which gave her the impression of a savage wearing its victim. He was as tall and spindly as she had been led to believe, leaning on a black-and-purple cane with one hand resting in his inside coat pocket. Surely he couldn't be that hard to take down.

Determined to get the job done, Elsa made no secret of her presence as she flung three icicles at the closest thief. This would be when she found justice for Anna. Justice for everyone hurt by Facilier and his Voodoo.

Her target's cries of pain called everyone to face her. A few of them looked agape at the thought the Arendelle Vigilante was real. Others chortled to themselves at the ridiculous get up, about which they made lewd comments with no subtlety. Facilier, on the other hand, was slyly grinning at her.

"Ah-ha! The famed Ice Woman of the north!" He cried in that richly menacing man. "I was wondering if you'd join us!"

"You hurt my friend." She said lowly, forming a set of razor-sharp ice shafts in her hands to punctuate her position.

Facilier failed to feel threatened, instead deciding to mock her.

"Oh? Oh! I'm so sorry, little lady," He chided, pretending to be the gentleman he was far from being. "Was one of them your friend? Was it the old man I got on Saturday? Or that young mother last week?" He gasped dramatically, taking an unwise step in her direction. "It wasn't that dear redhead from last night, was it? She was so talkative, so… so wonderful a test subject. She thought she could fool me and make fun of me. Sadly she had to be taught otherwise."

A flash of white went through his hat, as ice _clinked _on the cement floor. Elsa could barely hang onto her reason as the glacier pressure pushed down on her shoulders. She gritted her teeth and threw another icicle at the lackey who reached for a badly concealed gun. Facilier himself motioned them all back as well.

"Stop now, and I may go easy on you." She warned, a short barricade forming around the area to enclose them.

"You think you'll beat me up? A girl in jumpsuit? Pathetic." Facilier poked, taking another step. "I've checked the cards. You'll be on the floor in less than two minutes, contorting like that little idiot yesterday."

Elsa swung a fist at Facilier's face, aiming to break his nose and cheekbones in that single swipe. If she had made contact it would have caused a hairline fracture across his skull, both real and fake. But she missed. In the knick of time, Facilier leant back and then came back with a little canister. He sprayed once in Elsa's face. Then she started choking.

The misty spray tasted bitter, and it dried her throat dangerously as if all the moisture in her body disappeared in a second. She could feel it enter her bloodstream as a stinging poison, burning every fibre of her being against the swirling cold which burst forth in an uncontrolled blast which caught her foes by surprise. Snow covered everyone present, with a powerful wind pushing all away from her. Ice flew all around, making her form invisible within the cloud.

"Now, you fools! Move now!" Facilier yelled over the sudden blizzard.

Beyond the tropical sweating and ringing in her ears, Elsa heard the crate finally slam into the back of the truck. Then her enemies started escaping.

"Welcome to my world, girl!" Facilier called to her as he started towards the cab of the vehicle.

Determination faltering, Elsa aimed her hand at the fleeing form of Facilier. She could have hit him _and form that desperately needed cushion for Anna to land on. _

_Her sister leapt across the snowy pillars with all the power her tiny legs could muster. Regardless of her size, Anna was climbing ever higher into the roof of the ballroom And how was she being propelled to such heights? By the hand of her older sister, who stood on the slippery floor as she tried to keep up with the toddler. _

"_Anna! Slow down!" She innocently called, growing concerned as the size of the columns grew more and more. No matter how she tried to keep up, Elsa just couldn't produce the frozen forces fast enough. _

"_Catch me!" Anna yelled innocently, hopping from a height of ten metres with no next step in sight. _

_Elsa pulled a small amount of snowflakes into being, ready to make another tower grow from the floor. She lifted one foot to steady herself, but then fate took another path. The child felt herself slip on the moist ground, tumbling to the shiny surface and losing the hold on her powers. Those growing snowflakes launched themselves through the air on a trajectory. _

_A trajectory which led them directly into Anna's head. _

_The redheaded toddler groaned at the impact, but fell silent as gravity took hold. She landed in a snowy drift. But she didn't move when Elsa called her name and raced to her side. _

"_Anna? Anna! Wake up!" Elsa shrieked, shaking the small girl's shoulders, feeling her cold forehead. "Anna? Please!"_

_There was something her mother had taught her recently. Something to make sure a person was healthy or not. Placing two fingers under Anna's jawbone, Elsa shakily searched for the throb of life. Any movement. Even a twitch. _

_But try as she might, there was nothing to be found. Ice had already begun to spread across Anna's face, eating into her fair, freckled skin without relent until she was only a translucent shape lying on her back. A small mist escaped her parted blue lips, but that was it. Her baby sister was dead._

"_Anna! No!" Elsa sobbed, _releasing every last drop of energy from her overheating body into the sharp air of the warehouse.

The lorry had already left by the time Elsa fell into convulsions. Olaf and Pabbie could only bellow through her earpiece to keep her awake.

* * *

Outside the building, a police cruiser pulled to a_ screeching_ halt before its driver and his dog leapt into action. The call had been made fifteen minutes ago, and not a single second had been wasted in accepting the emergency assignment. A few colleagues had to be talked down from investigating, but that hadn't been too difficult.

Gun at the ready, Kristoff barged his way into the lobby. This was the spot the Vigilante had last been seen at, according to the jabbering janitor. The employee had promptly called for the authorities to reach the area before evacuating. He had even had the cheek to ask about the reward money. However, an arrest would have to be made before any dollars could be shared. And none of them had realised where the Vigilante went there was probably also a crime. That was what a Vigilante chased, after all.

There were visible signs of a fight having taken place. A small damp patch had been left on one wall, where the reported weapon had been placed and there was a glittering trail of frost leading deeper into the building.

It was at this that Sven quickly grew distressed, as he sniffed at the unnatural symptom of extreme weather and started pointing with his snout in the same direction.

"What is it, boy?" Kristoff encouraged, following the Labrador when he shot off down the halls in pursuit.

Kristoff lost his footing a few times as he tried to keep up with Sven, although it wasn't too difficult a path to follow. The frost ran pretty much uninterrupted from the front door to the manufacturing lines. Here, the room was packed with snow and ice and wind as if he had stepped through the wardrobe into the White Witch's domain. Sven trotted through the slush unhindered, but Kristoff found himself nearly immobilised by the bizarrely frigid conditions. What had exactly happened here? Was all this down to the Vigilante?

A distorted scream echoed through the winter wonderland. At once, Sven shot off through the stone cold warehouse to the source of the cry. Kristoff did his best to follow, but was stuck by the depth of the snow which had formed and continued to form around his knees.

Once he had finally caught up with his canine partner, he drew his gun up to shoulder level should an attacker suddenly lunge at him. Instead, he was shocked to the find the Vigilante shaking rapidly on the floor. Her arms did not move in accordance with her will and her skin was slick with sweat which shone for the overhead light. Sven was whining at her side, encouraging her to move as much as she could. She whimpered in return at his every touch and looked astounded that the dog was actually there.

"Oh my God…" Kristoff trailed off, frozen in place by his own surprise rather than the Vigilante's creations.

At the sound of his voice, the Vigilante twisted herself around to look at him with desperate eyes. She gasped, then tried to drag herself towards him before reaching out when her strength failed her.

"Bjorgman… Kristoff… Please…" She tried to say, her arm twitching erratically. "Help me."

As if to remind him she was an actual person rather than a costumed crime-fighter, she unsteadily grappled with her mask. When she finally managed to pull the constricting article off, his jaw practically fell to the floor..

"What do you need?" He asked, at once kneeling at her side to lift her. "A doctor? Is there someone who can help you?"

"Take me… to North Mount… Station…" Elsa Noble painfully pleaded, slipping towards unconsciousness, but not before she could whisper: "Anna."

* * *

**So, Kristoff's in the know. What next? **

**Please review.**


	11. The Voodoo Plot - Part Four

**Hello all, and welcome to another instalment of Elsa's story!**

**If I may direct your attention to the cover image, you may notice that we have a brand-spanking new illustration of our protagonists to head the tale. The thanks for this must go to Masterfile92, who has so wonderfully captured my vision for the costume. I may or may not have been admiring the picture for the last few days and I think the artist deserves a round of applause (although this would be very hard to coordinate). **

**Also, to answer AnacToria Sky; this story is definitively not Elsanna. I'm not adverse to the ship, I just don't think it works in this setting. In the future I may write another story more along those lines but for now we're going to be heading into Hanna territory. And, yes; to the most logical point this story **_**is **_**following the actual plot, however some parts may be rearranged and reworked to fit into the story. Hopefully this clears up a few things.**

**As always, a huge thank you to the followers, favourites and reviewers. I'm glad you're all enjoying this superhero allegory. **

**Hope enjoy this chapter! Happy reading.**

* * *

Kristoff sat in the driver's seat of his police cruiser at an intersection of the edge of the Mountains. To his left was the dingy, poorly lit North Mount Street down which the abandoned station could be found. If he went on, straight ahead, the road would take him to the Police Station. The path to his left would take him down the fluorescent boulevards in the direction of the hospital, a journey which would take much longer than his other two potential destinations. This decision, for anyone else, could be made in an instant. Follow the law, find aid or listen to his moral compassion.

Beside him, Sven whimpered loudly. The bulky Labrador repeatedly tried to stand up in his set to dutifully watch the pained figure lying across the back seat. When he failed in this manoeuvre, he would turn to Kristoff and nudge his partner with his snout as if to urge the right choice. What that choice was could not be communicated, leaving the same problem unanswered. If Sven had spoken right then, Kristoff wouldn't have thought it strange. He would have appreciated the input, especially as he spent most of his day pretending to have a conversation with the canine anyway.

The light flashed to green overhead, and almost instinctively Kristoff pulled off to head back to the Police Station. Yes. This was the right thing to do. The Vigilante was a criminal. A wanted criminal, no less. He had joined the police force to stop dangers to the public and that included bringing in potentially deadly individuals. So the only natural and acceptable thing for him to do would be to turn over the woman to the authorities.

But then Elsa Noble groaned in intolerable pain. This was no nameless vigilante. This was a woman who had acted to protect her sister in the only way left to her. A woman who put herself in this position to try to save the streets from a wave of drug crime. The woman who ran the company responsible for a large proportion of investment in the city. Without the presence of Elsa Noble the situation would be far worse. She was protecting the people, which was a rare sight for Kristoff. Even in his line of work he was yet to see dedication like that.

There was also the personal factor Kristoff felt must be addressed. Two nights ago, the Vigilante or Elsa Noble, as she was properly known, had gone out of her way to save him. In the confrontation with those pharmacy thieves his backup had been almost reluctant to show themselves. He hadn't had a weapon handy, and those criminals had nearly shot him. Might have even managed it until Elsa had swung in and caught the bullet with her own body. And he had _promised_ to help her.

He glanced towards Sven, who observed him intently as if able to see his inner thoughts. Then he took a sharp left at the next junction and doubled back on himself to enter the maze of the Mountains.

"Alright, Bud," Kristoff said to the dog. "This doesn't leave us. We could be arrested for this."

Sven, unsurprisingly, did not say anything. However, feeling there needed to be some form of verbal agreement Kristoff did his best impression of Scooby-Doo to say; "Rohkay!"

When he pulled up to the curb outside North Mount Station, Kristoff was partially surprised to see the wooden boards had been removed with the old metal gate unlocked. Since Elsa had whispered the name he had expected to see it in use, but wondered why no one had addressed what would appear to be vandalism. It was not, however, something he would be bringing up with his colleagues anytime soon. The descending tunnel opened like the last gate into mystery and once down there, Kristoff could not ignore what he saw. A chasm would open between his professional service to the laws of the state and the secret world of vigilante justice. Could he keep his loyalties divided? Where would his loyalties lie in the end?

A nudge from Sven's nose and an agonized gasp from Elsa Noble brought Kristoff back to reality. There wasn't a choice in the end. The only objective that mattered was getting the poisoned woman to safety.

Leaping from the car with Sven close behind him, he lifted Elsa carefully after quickly slipping his standard issue jacket around her shiny suit. When he checked her pulse he found it steady, even if her skin was slick with sweat and grime despite having relatively the same body temperature as a refrigerated glass of water. She was far heavier than he had expected, and her twitching did not help him keep a firm hold of her. It seemed the physical contact disturbed her, even if she was unconscious. A few times he thought she was even trying to push him away.

But Kristoff managed to get her down into the tunnel without anyone noticing the suspicious behaviour. Sven trotted along at his side, nose held to the floor as he identified and followed certain scents. The darkness twisted around them to the point nothing could be seen directly in their path, and the human couldn't reach for his torch quite so easily due to his disturbed, unconscious charge. He only had Sven's sense of smell to keep him on course, although this didn't stop him from bumping into the walls occasionally.

Eventually, the pair found the large, dimly illuminated metal door which blocked their path into the subway station. _Noble Corps Research Facility, Keep Out_ was printed in blue on silver, letting Kristoff know he had come to the right place. Then again, it wasn't as if North Mount Station's corridors could lead anywhere else. This had to be where Elsa wanted to be taken. The only problem was the door had obviously been locked. There was no foreseeable way in.

"What now?" He asked Sven, gripping tighter when Elsa squirmed at a particularly horrible vision which made her mumble her sister's name. "Do I knock?"

Without warning, Sven began barking madly. He scratched up the door, claws clattering against the metal and making such a ruckus that Kristoff winced from the noise. Elsa also became more alarmed at the canine wailing, stirring more violently like she thought she was under attack. She lightly slapped Kristoff, most likely without being aware she was doing it, and threw a cloud of fog which condenses into a small patch of ice on the wall.

When she did this, Kristoff stopped focussing on the door to inspect the damp grey spot hanging among the tiles. He had been told by officers who had investigated the first two appearances of the Vigilante that the woman supposedly used experimental technology to produce ice. In his encounter with her the night before, there hadn't been a chance to explore this at any point. But now, he was fairly certain technology did not factor into her abilities. Despite his scepticism, it looked frighteningly like Elsa had produced that ice from her _hand_.

Before he could question this further a mighty _clunk_ reverberated from the metal door. Sven immediately quieted in satisfaction and sat beside Kristoff with a curious expression at the huge slab swung inwards.

Neither officers expected a pair of rather short men to be stood on the other side, both their faces pale and apprehensive. Then the older one, who had a strangely weathered look to his skin, spotted Elsa's quivering form.

"You brought her back?" He asked, surprise evident in his voice.

Whilst Kristoff fumbled for an answer, the old man checked Elsa's pulse. He completely ignored a partially incoherent sarcastic response from the cop as he made the most basic of examinations to gain a brief understanding of the situation.

"Olaf!" The old man yelled unnecessarily for the confined distance. "Get a bed ready in the lab and find one of those IVs I brought down! Mr Bjorgman! Follow me!"

Caught unaware by this medical expertise, Kristoff obediently followed the tiny old man through the retrofitted entrance hub. Only briefly could he examine the wall-mounted displays (all showing an interactive map of Facilier's traits and tendencies), the snow covered floor (which made hurried steps difficult) and the floor-to-ceiling shrine of an identical blue suit. Then he was being led through the equally hastily refurbished platforms.

After passing through the cold corridors at a slow jog, Elsa was eventually laid down on a medical cot beside an isolated laboratory housed inside a train car. She continued to twitch, emitting small sobs of pain each time. Kristoff was pushed back by the old man and Olaf, who busied themselves in rolling up her sleeves and making a few injections. From what Kristoff could tell, an IV was placed and a muscle relaxant was administered as she settled down quickly after that. A blood sample was also taken as a matter of urgency, and carried through into the small lab. Her breathing steadied as the fluid was fed directly into her blood stream and it seemed as if her chilling fever had broken as Olaf mopped her brow with a cloth.

Whilst all this happened, Kristoff found himself at a loose end. It seemed Sven had tuned himself into the situation more than his owner had, waiting quite patiently in the corner. Several minutes passed in busy silence. In that time, none of the lawbreakers paid any attention to them. The cop could have been changing his mind on the matter and call in reinforcements at any moment. Although it seems they all understood that this was a secret which would not go further than these subterranean walls.

Eventually the short men stopped their most likely unlicensed medical actions, leaving Elsa to rest as they silently deliberated over who would explain the entire operation to the newcomer.

"Kristoff, was it?" The old man introduced, offering a deceptively large hand which the officer reluctantly shook. "Dr Ernest Pabbie. Thank you for bringing her back here. I understand you could easily have chosen to turn her in to the police."

"Yeah. I nearly took her to the precinct." He shamefully admitted, casting his eyes way under the stern gaze of a man he didn't even know.

"I appreciate that you did not," Pabbie replied, stepping back to take Elsa's pulse again. "I take it you will want to know what we're doing down here?"

"Er- Well, yeah," Kristoff truthfully answered, feeling out of his depth. He was marginally embarrassed that he had been trained to interrogate suspects but was at the mercy of people he _should_ be arresting. "Since when has Elsa Noble, who is famously reclusive and is rarely sighted in public, been a ninja?"

"Since, like, always!" Olaf replied matter-of-factly. "In university, she used to sneak through the flat with no one noticing! Food would go missing and, nine times out of ten, it was in Elsa's room!"

Pabbie gave Olaf a silencing stare, although Kristoff couldn't figure out how this revealed any more information about the Vigilante. Were her skills always being geared towards crime fighting? Was it just a happy accident? Did she really just fall into being a hero at that mall?

"And the ice?" Kristoff pressed further. The ice was something he felt should definitely be addressed.

Pabbie paused, eye's held over Elsa's still form. He cleared his throat a few times before returning his attention to Kristoff. His hands clenched and unclenched the air, as if he was trying to physically hold onto the words with which he would explain her unique biology. To Kristoff, it looked almost like he was debating whether he should answer the question.

"The ice is an ability Elsa was born with. She's always had it. It was part of why she became, as you put it, a 'ninja'," Pabbie elaborated, disapproving of the label on Elsa's skills. "It is also why she is a recluse. Other than this, I don't think it's my place to tell you anything. All I can say is that she would never willingly hurt someone with it."

"Except everyone she's impaled with an icicle." Kristoff pointed out, well aware of the injuries she had caused the kidnappers at the Noble Tower and the close calls with frostbite she had dealt out to others.

"Every one of those people were either a danger to her family, which the police were very reluctant to combat themselves," Pabbie coldly countered, making a point of placing himself between Elsa and the embodiment of law. "Or they were people_ you_ yourself were going to shoot. I daresay an icicle does less damage than a bullet when one knows what they're doing with it."

Kristoff fell back into the quiet at this argument. To be honest, he saw that there wasn't much difference between what he did for a living and what Elsa was doing for no thanks at all. The only thing dividing them in a legal sense was that Kristoff had attended an Academy where he received numerous licenses at the end of his studies. Morally, they were on par. Neither had killed anyone, and they ultimately left their opponents to the judgement of the law.

"What will happen to her now?" Olaf asked from the opposite side of the bed, eyes intently watching Elsa's serene, unmoving face.

Returning to his medical role, Pabbie took her pulse once more, tapped the IV drip and opened one eye to check her pupil response. Apparently satisfied, he dived into the lab and came back with a new syringe.

"She's returned to homeostasis, as far as I can tell," Pabbie reasoned, locating a vein for the injection. "Judging by how quickly Anna recovered from her drugging, I think it's safe to bring her around."

For the first few moments after he emptied the syringe there was no movement. Then there was a small _crackle_ of ice on the metal railings and Elsa stirred slightly. Again, all she said was her sister's name but the tone was much happier. A single tear slid from the corner of her eye. The ice spreading across the bed was smooth, intricate and beautiful. She looked almost peaceful. It was hard to imagine she had been poisoned within the last two hours But then she winced when her eyes opened and her hands shot up to cover her face.

"Oh my God," She groaned into her palms, stretching her legs and arching her back on the bed. "What happened?"

The way she moved made it look like all her joints had been wounded, and the ice began to crack and splinter as her memories returned to her.

"Facilier!" She shouted, trying to shoot to her feet but finding she was restrained by plastic pipe feeding a cocktail of required minerals into her blood. Despite her best efforts, once Elsa was standing she lost balance.

Luckily Kristoff swooped past the tiny form of Pabbie to stop her from falling to the cold floor. Elsa, though still largely oblivious to her surroundings, made a point to push herself up from Kristoff's support using her elbows rather than her hands. She blinked several times to make the world look less fuzzy, then she stared at Kristoff's face in horror.

"No. You're not meant to be down here," Elsa huffed in fear, falling back against the cot and spotting Olaf and Pabbie. "What is _he_ doing down here?" She felt her face for her mask. "Oh God."

"Elsa, calm down!" Olaf urged, pulling her arm to his chest in comfort, as well as keeping her anchored. "Kristoff brought you back here!"

"Why?" She breathed, disbelievingly.

"Because you asked me to?" Kristoff answered and asked, doing his best to jog her memory. "You were in a really bad state when I found you. You pretty much froze an entire factory."

These words did nothing to relieve Elsa. Indeed, they only made her recall the events of her encounter with Facilier and the lucid dream she had experienced whilst under the influence of Voodoo. She gasped sharply, breaking away from Olaf to lean over the bed. For a few seconds, everyone thought she was going to throw up at the realisation, but instead she only felt in necessary to sit down to stop her dizziness.

Pabbie gave Kristoff an admonishing look before kneeling beside the frightened woman. It was obvious that she was in a state of panic over her failure, not to mention that an unidentified fear was gripping her without relent.

"Wh- where's Anna?" Elsa asked, breathing shallowly.

"At the mansion. She's fine, why?" Olaf gently replied, urging Pabbie to shuffle back and allow Elsa some space.

"I-I saw- I saw-…" Elsa tried to answer, but failed as she folded even more in on herself.

Even though she had taken down several criminals, Kristoff was surprised by just how insecure she was in her role. Her fears for her sister and her discovery seemed paradoxical to the danger she willingly placed herself in. In his own opinion, she would have to confront those fears if she planned to take to the dark streets on a regular basis. And he felt that _he _knew the most about these dangers, at least more so than Olaf and Pabbie, who could only reason objectively.

Taking careful steps to cross directly into Elsa's line of sight, Kristoff sat on the floor opposite her as Sven trotted over to nudge at her arm. She was startled by the dog's approach, but tentatively patted his head appreciatively.

"Elsa, are you scared of being caught?" Kristoff softly asked, removing his badge and placing it between them to show his position.

Very reluctantly, Elsa turned back to him and slowly nodded. Her shoulders were hunched over in a way that could only be uncomfortable. She glanced to Olaf, who stood with his back forced into an upright position when he spotted her eyes on him. The hint was understood; as Elsa relaxed her shoulders and leant back against the wall. Immediately her breathing became much deeper and she seemed to gather her thoughts.

"If I'm caught, then everything my family worked for is lost," She answered, routinely inhaling fully through her nose and out through her mouth. "The company will be shut down, I will be imprisoned for my powers, if not my crimes, and Anna will be left completely alone."

"Is that what you're scared of? Leaving Anna alone?" Kristoff kindly pressed. "Well, that won't happen. I can pull strings at the precinct, I can keep the police off your scent. And if it really comes to it, there's always your cousin in Corona. Anna will never be alone."

"No," Elsa agreed, a hard determination falling over her imperceptibly fearful eyes. "Because she is my sister. She will never be alone. But I'm scared I'll hurt her. I did it before, and one day, whatever happens, I may do it again."

"Well then, just don't," Kristoff simply recommended. "And if you ever think you will, walk out of the room before you can."

The thought had apparently never really occurred to Elsa before. Upon processing the idea, she visibly relaxed and breathed far more naturally than she had previously. Sven rested his head on her leg, with his most fond eyes on. She scratched behind his ear and then folded her arms.

"I'd like to go home." Elsa simply said, sounding more tired than she had previously. The past few hours had drained her physically and emotionally. All she wanted was to go home and have a pizza. Or whatever was left over of Tiana's reception meal for Prince Naveen.

Pabbie felt her forehead and looked into her eyes, assessing her health. She seemed far better than when she had been brought in.

"You should probably stay on the IV for another few hours," He theorised, having no proper equipment and only the report he had heard of Anna's drug experience yesterday. "But I don't see why you can't sleep in your own bed. Just make sure to have plenty of fluids. Do you still have the bike?"

Realising her mistake, Elsa shook her head dejectedly. The bike would have to be recovered as soon as possible if her charade was going to continue. Anyone who found it could put together the appearance of the Vigilante and ownership of the vehicle.

"I'll take her back," Kristoff offered, rising from the damp floor and brushing down his trousers. Sven leapt to his feet beside his partner. "And we'll make up a cover story if anyone asks what the mighty Elsa Noble is doing in a police car."

Though she was immensely grateful, Elsa didn't say a word as she got to her feet and lifted her IV bag from the rack it hung on. She was still slightly uneasy on her feet, so Kristoff took a hold of one arm whilst Sven kept close on her other side. With a single hand, she paused them and stumbled off by herself.

"Just so you all know," The cop said to everyone in the room. "I want in on this operation now. If you're going to have an effect, you'll need police help."

* * *

As a house guest, Prince Naveen was wild and possessed endless energy. As a business investor, he was evaluative if distracted. As a tourist, the royal kept wondering off and was largely oblivious to the ways of real life. At least twice he had purposefully walked into a burly guy who Anna just _knew _was trouble to antagonise. The first time, his security team had arrived to settle the situation. When he did it again, Anna had pulled him away from the brawl waiting to happen and did her best to explain why people in the Mountains didn't do that. He really was becoming more trouble than she could handle.

It didn't help that Elsa had barely made an effort for the visit. After finally arriving home last night, in the company of Officer Bjorgman no less, she had said minimal niceties to the Prince and disappeared into her room under the pretence of a sudden cold. The claims of illness hadn't stopped her from attending the required tour of the company, which, in fairness, had taken longer than intended due to Naveen's poor focus. But once they had finished, she had swiftly pardoned herself and disappeared back to the mansion. This left Anna to continue trying to sell the idea of investing in Arendelle by herself.

Although, no matter where she took Naveen, she couldn't help but wonder what was happening with Elsa. She was being abnormally secretive, even for a recluse. It was making Anna concerned that she was once again cutting herself off from the world and that she was losing herself in the realm of business. Alternatively, and this was only a wild, private theory; the younger Noble couldn't help but question the possibility of Elsa seeing some.

That, of course, was wildly unlikely. Elsa had never once shown the slightest interest in anyone and barely spoke beyond her small circle of friends. The opportunity to meet a guy (or girl, Anna was not ruling that surprise out) probably hadn't arisen at all. All Elsa did, every day, was go to work and go home. No more than a few meetings keeping her away from her familial life.

But that in itself was also strange. It made absolutely no sense for the board to call meetings when they all knew the importance of Prince Naveen's visit. Surely, they would want the CEO in constant contact with the investor to ensure the relationship. So why on Earth would Goddard, or Jameson or Pabbie, be assembling so frequently? Anna got the distinct impression there was something else going on and she did not like the idea that something was demanding so much of Elsa's time.

"Zo, what did you call zhis place?" Naveen asked, observing his new environment intently.

He had changed out of his royal uniform and dressed down into clothes which still set him apart from everyone else in the Mountains. No one had clothes as well tailored as Naveen's beige slacks, pine-brown woollen jumper, red tie and a Stetson workers hat. If this was fashionable in Maldonia, then the micro-nation seemed stuck in the 1920s.

His team of bodyguards, all of whom were uninterested in conversation and had the subtlety of a rhinoceros, were spread out along the street to simultaneously keep the Prince protected and hidden. It simply wouldn't do to have the people aware that a future monarch was mingling amongst them. Therefore, there was one guard walking ten metres ahead of them and another an equal distance behind them. A third kept parallel to them across the street, although he would be of little use in high traffic. Nevertheless, they carried out their eagle-like watch over their employer, and were apparently satisfied with his safety.

"This area's called the Mountains," Anna explained for the fourth time. "It's not the classiest of districts, but it is where you'll find the most culture. I think there're a few jazz clubs nearby."

They meandered past an old homeless man, who was quietly asking for any spare change. Feeling moved by the destitution, Anna dropped a ten in his lap while Naveen watched the beggar with interest. He did not, however, dig into the fraction of his vast wealth to help the man. Instead, he followed Anna after receiving a hard, tired look from the bum.

"Your idea of culture, et es flawed, I zhink." Naveen commented, marginally disgusted by the dirt piling up in the gutters and the state of the people they encountered.

"Well, what's it like in Maldonia? Don't you have the poor there as well?" Anna asked back, touchy over his attitude towards her home city.

"Not as I know," He answered, heartily kicking a can like a football. "We are a small country, less people zhan are living en zhis town. But lots of resources. We 'ave a 'igh level of 'uman development. A 'igh average wage, also."

"Good for you," Anna said, perhaps annoyed. "Meanwhile, in Arendelle, our economy isn't so stable."

If she were actually asked to give opinions or quote news on the state of the Arendelle economy, there wasn't an awful lot she could say. Elsa had always been the one to keep a meticulous eye on stock rises and falls. Anna was just there, paying attention but never really learning anything. This was the first time she had done something close to official Noble Corporation business. But she wasn't going to give up in the company's objective due to lack of preparation. That wasn't really her style. All it would take was just a little pressure on Naveen's human concern.

"Do you know why the Mountains are like this?" She asked, receiving the expected shake of the head from Naveen. "It's because a lot of the small chains or individual companies in Arendelle relied on my parents' work. They got investment, which allowed them to do research and bring in a revenue which made the city attractive. But when they… died. When they died, investors didn't trust their replacements. So research had to be cut back and jobs were lost. Then shops shut down when people started moving away, until the Mountains fell into depression. If more money came into the company, then I think Elsa is hoping we can improve the living conditions."

"Elsa es you sister, yes?" Naveen replied, apparently distracted another woman. This annoyed Anna greatly that a future monarch was this ignorant to the people. "Because you do not look very alike."

If Anna had a quarter for every time someone pointed that out, she could have paid for the research herself. It was true that, as close relatives, Elsa and Anna did look quite different. The eldest child had always been the perfect archetype; clever, beautiful, athletic and a high metabolism to boot. Anna, on the other hand, had only received lesser gifts in these regards. Her exam results showed that she was an average student, and she was much shorter with a less desirable hair colour. In her opinion, blonde was much better than red. As for sporty, she lacked the physical strength to be even a mediocre teammate, as her brief foray into baseball had shown.

This was what she saw whenever anyone made the comparison. The perfection that was Elsa and the lesser variant that was Anna. It was embarrassing when she thought about it. And it made Anna thirsty.

"Hey, do you want a drink?" She suddenly offered, catching Naveen's attention almost immediately.

"Drink? As en alcohol?" He inquired, receiving affirmation both times. "But et's only one in zhe afternoon!"

"But it's, like, what? Eight in the evening in Maldonia?" Anna countered, linking arms with the Prince and leading him around a corner to the nearest bar she knew. Coincidentally, it was also one she worked at.

The bodyguards could only chase after them as Naveen fell into eager step with his escort. When _Oaken's _finally came into view, Anna had no qualms about pulling the future King through the door and into the midday rush that gripped the restaurant. Most of the tables had been claimed by families, with many of the working staff marching between guests, kitchen and bar. The bar itself was remarkably clear, as only the perpetually happy face of Oaken moved along the counters. Anna felt a brief sense of unease when she realised she hadn't been in the restaurant since she collapsed.

"Anna! Yoo-hoo!" Oaken greeted delightedly. They had shared a few words in the hospital, where he had given her the rest of the week off. He was pleasantly surprised, then, when his favourite employee wandered in with a blue-blooded patron. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks," She answered, pulling up a barstool with Naveen. "Do you recognise my friend?"

"Oh ja," Oaken exclaimed, performing the surprising feat of dropping to one knee. "I am honoured, Your Majesty, to have you here. Is zhere anything I can get you?"

"A oui!" Naveen happily responded, amazed to find a fellow European, if from much north. "I would like your best beer, and one for Miss Noble."

Oaken made a subtle glance to Anna, well aware of her liberal liking of the powerful drink. Legally, he wasn't allowed to serve alcohol before six in the evening and he was especially not allowed to serve it to a minor. But he was also in no position to deny a Prince, who most likely held diplomatic immunity. Besides, he had allowed Anna the odd drink after a long shift and she had never become stupidly inebriated under his roof. In his opinion, the drinking age in Arendelle only encouraged underage consumption. Back in Europe, the rules were more relaxed; particularly in southern countries. Indeed, Oaken fondly recalled his visits to Oktoberfest as a teenager. It was for this reason that he decided, just this once, to supply the pair.

"Very vell, one moment, ja?" He answered, stepping back to the staircase and descending to basement where such drinks were kept.

Naveen and Anna sat in silence for a few moments, each wondering whether to attempt a new conversation. They got on reasonably well, but they simply weren't comfortable with the impersonal nature of the visit. The three body guards had spread themselves out around the bar in a continuously suspicious pattern for the diners, who watched with limited interest.

Anna wondered whether she should bring up the Maldonian interest in the company again, whilst Naveen had his mind on quite a different topic. Namely; a New Orleans chef whom he had snubbed the night before. Despite the few, brusque interactions they had had, the Prince found himself greatly fascinate by the southern enigma. He had half a mind to ask his host about the woman, perhaps geared towards the chance of a dance at the ball tomorrow night.

When the silence became too much, Naveen decided to break the silence in a different way then he intended.

"Anna, where es zhe bathroom?"

* * *

After a bodyguard attempted to follow him into the Men's Room, Naveen promptly ordered him out and found some privacy in the furthest stall from the door. He didn't sit or do any of the things people might expect him to do in such a room. Instead, he simply leant against the wooden frame and sighed heavily.

Truthfully, all he was after was a few minutes to himself; away from the pressures of representing his family and having to pretend to be something he didn't see himself as. When he was a child, being a prince was all good fun. The responsibilities of the Kingdom seemed so far away. All he had to do was learn his lessons and turn up to banquets when required. Now; he had to travel halfway across the world so he could negotiate trade with a foreign company which he didn't really understand, before travelling on to the European Assembly in two days' time as Ambassador. When he finally did make it back to his marble palace, it was more than likely his father would include him in a very disturbing security summit with the neighbouring countries. There was no fun anymore, no time for what he _wanted _to do.

Having choice was part of the reason he had been so rude to Tiana the night before. No one had asked him what he might like. They had only offered him the food of his native country when he would be just as happy sampling American culture. In hindsight, the way he put it was probably the worst way to go. He would make it a point to apologise profusely to the chef when he next saw her. There must be some way to show how sorry he was.

Taking a few more minutes in the stall, Naveen recounted everything he had heard about the Noble Corporation so far. The tired, troll-like Dr Pabbie had been particularly proud of his research into regenerative medicines, which were experimental but could be improved with more funding. Those could be useful for amputee soldiers if they worked properly. The elusive Elsa Noble had spent a long time explaining the advantages of adaptive antibiotics, especially as a new strain of flu was making its way into the Maldonian Capital. These, of course, would be produced faster if and when investment was sent over. And then Anna had described the state of affairs in the local economy, another problem which could be fixed by throwing money into the Noble Corporation.

He would have to speak more with his hosts before the party and negotiate just _how much_ the company required.

Stepping back out into the quiet bathroom, with only one other patron by the sink. Not wanting to look unhygienic, the Prince washed his hands out of social pressure. Once he had wetted his hands, he spared a glance to the man at the next taps. His companion was quite well dressed for the 'Mountains', a he sceptically believed the streets were called. In a top hat and tails, the man was the closest to well-dressed Naveen had seen in the city.

"Excuse me, fella," The man asked in a familiar accent. "D'ya have any soap?"

"Oh, yes," Naveen answered, handing over the pale yellow lump. "Your accent. You are from New Orleans, yes?"

The man gave a hearty laugh. "Why, yes. I suppose I am a child of the Bayou State. Louisiana, born and bred. If I may comment, your accent is more exotic than mine."

Naveen gave a good-natured grin and pretended to evaluate his new friend's comment, earning a snort of humour.

"I am from Portugal," He lied, having been strictly told not to disclose his actual nationality or position on the social ladder. "A wonderful place. Visit, if you ever get zhe chance."

"Well, I do hope to travel," The man replied, wandering off to the towel rack . Naveen followed soon after. "In my line of work, I might reach there some day."

Patting his hands dry, the Prince heard a sudden _click_ and felt something clamp down on his fingers. Both men withdrew their hands at the same time, both surprised by the sharp sound. However, Naveen did not see the New Orleans gentleman quickly bury a skull shaped talisman into his pocket. Instead, he focussed on keeping his foreign swears internalised and inspected the pin-prick wound.

"Ashidanza!" He liberally exclaimed, waving his fingers to dispel the pain.

"Good lord," The man agreed, heading to leave the bathroom. "The mechanisms on that rack need changing."

And with a tip of his hat, the Louisianan exited the room, leaving Prince Naveen to grit his teeth at the discomfort as he washed away the small amount of blood the bite of machinery had pulled. The cut was not particularly large, only a few millimetres across, so he felt it was unworthy to mention to Oaken when he returned to his drink.

He didn't particularly think about the incident again until he began to feel ill that evening.

* * *

**Please Review.**


	12. The Voodoo Plot - Part Five

**Voilá! Another instalment, only slightly behind time. I should warn you all, dear readers, that I have exams coming up soon; so updates may become more delayed as the weeks go on. I really chose the wrong time of year to start all this. Should I need to go on hiatus, I'll warn you all in advance and try to find the best place to pause. But by mid-June I'll be free to write this story as much as I want. **

**In response to JJ12, I'm afraid I won't be putting a cape on Elsa for the moment. I did think about it when I first starting planning this story, but then (with **_**The Incredibles**_** to back me up on this) I realised that a cape would be more of a hindrance; especially as it would always be getting caught on her icy constructs. I do like your idea though, and there may be variations of the costume to come in the future.**

**As always, a huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review this story (especially Artsoccer, who made me laugh with a very succinct review of Hans).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Elsa watched her refection with an air of loathing disinterest. The dress she had chosen for the evening was functional, conservative and sophisticated. Everything her colleagues (and few friends) would expect of her. Most of the dress was a forest green colour, which swept from her collar bones to just above her feet in a blend of cotton and silk which would be the envy of any high school ball she could have attended in her teenage years. Of course, having been home schooled, the opportunity had thankfully never arisen. A stretch of black covered her shoulders and most of her neck, mainly to avoid revealing any bruises she had gained in her failed confrontation with Facilier. A pair of heavy silk, turquoise gloves were drawn to her elbows and were adorned with a similar pattern of red and purple teardrops to the ones on her bust. In this fashion statement, Elsa would look like everything everyone expected her to be. Coincidentally, it was everything Elsa felt reluctant to be and that was where her disinterest stemmed from.

Her loathing was directed at, rather than her clothing, her unceasing analysis of what went wrong for her the other night. She had had the perfect opportunity to beat bloody sense into that grinning bastard. Instead, she was left with vivid hallucinations of Anna's death for nearly twelve hours after the incident and most likely bruised ribs from her painful hyperventilation. Every breath reminded her that a drug dealer had got the better of her. Facilier had mocked her, hurt her, hurt _Anna_ and still lived to tell the tale. If, or rather _when_, they met again Elsa would not fall for his tricks. No. The Arendelle Vigilante would be ready.

And, due to this quest for redemption, Elsa had chosen to wear the blue-and-white suit beneath her dress. She was also deliberating on a name. 'Arendelle Vigilante' was a mouthful.

Satisfied that the stolen suit was not visible over her collar or under her skirt, she stepped away from the mirror to gaze out the window. From her dressing room, the driveway and a section of the garden was laid out like a theatre for Elsa. Several floors below, cars cruised down the gravelled road and unloaded their passengers in all their moneyed glory. Board members, Heads of Departments, the Arendelle Upper Class. Other notable investors. One business and personal rival. The only arrival Elsa actually smiled about was the yellow cab which had to be escorted by a walking guard. Unsurprisingly, it was Olaf who leapt out when the public vehicle stopped, and he giddily waddled down the red carpet unconcerned by the critical glances from the other, older guests. His standing in their eyes probably wasn't aided by his snow white suit with black buttons. But if it made him happy, there was no real harm in it. Fashion be damned.

Down on the lawns the guests were already mingling, enjoying the summer evening with vapid, privileged conversations about the shameful state of an economy they weren't bothering to help. Or Elsa imagined that was what they must be talking about. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but she could watch with disdain as a certain redheaded man strolled over to introduce himself to Olaf. Hans had continued the royal theme of his suits, a style which had her friend in awe as he handed the shorter man a glass of champagne. Elsa couldn't help but notice that Hans kept glancing around the grounds, almost as if he was looking for something. A glimpse of Prince Naveen? Or Anna? But that didn't make sense. He was looking _away _from the house. He was searching for something in the tree line.

Before she could question this further, Elsa was distracted by a loud knocking from the door. At first she thought it might be her sister, who had spent most of the day running around the mansion in her ball gown. It was more than obvious that Anna was wildly excited for the party. This was the first, official party in her childhood home that she could be part of _and _she had full consent from the actual owner. Elsa was considering opening up the house for parties more if Anna was this happy. She never wanted that smile to go away.

However, she was surprised when Prince Naveen entered at her invitation.

"'Allo, Miss Noble," He greeted, hesitantly. "I 'ope I am not interrupting?"

"No, no. Please, come in, Your Majesty," Elsa assured, pulling her dressing table chair to the centre of the room for him to sit on. But he remained standing. "And call me Elsa, please."

Although she hadn't spent much time with her honoured guest, it seemed as if Naveen was quickly coming down with an illness. He was quieter than he had been previously, his face more serious. His tanned skin was tinted a sickly colour which was almost indistinguishable from the pale green of his suit, with his eyes so tired he forced them open and looked a bit like a frog because of it. Still handsome, or so Elsa would think if she had an opinion, but definitely under the weather.

"Elsa, grazie," Naveen thanked. There was something about his symptoms which seemed familiar. "I feel we 'ave not spoken as much as we should. Zhere es quite an obvious matter we should talk about."

She had been dreading this discussion. "Yes, there is. I'm sorry I haven't been present. There were matters in the city I had to take into consideration."

It wasn't a complete lie. More of a vague truth. Hopefully this wouldn't impact on the company's chances of investment.

"I understand," Naveen agreed. "You are zhe most emportant person in Arendelle. I observe that you 'ave more enfluence zhan zhe Mayor. What an unlikable person 'e es! En Maldonia, I am often distracted by similar zhings."

He grinned without any humour, his eyes unfocussed on Elsa as they glided along the room.

"So, I 'ave decided zhat I will recommend envestment to my papa," He stated, almost nonchalantly. However, both were glad he had cut to the chase that quickly. But that wasn't the only thing he had to say on the matter. "I zhink I can persuade him to send as much as you need. So long as you use ze capital to 'elp zhe Mountains recover."

Elsa didn't quite know what to think of this curious request. Improving the public wealth of Arendelle had always been high on her list, although she thought smaller businesses would return if she brought the Noble Corporation back to its previous high standing. Yet as Naveen stood there, deadly serious about his demand, she decided she could organise an aid program. To hell with Weselton's laissez-faire. The Noble Corporation, with her personal approval, would loan out the money to business owners once the stocks became stable. Perhaps she could twist the wording to portray the scheme as promotion for the company, if only to get it through the board room.

"That's fine. I'll do it. I planned to anyway," Elsa answered, glancing into the mirror to provide a relief from the unknowingly tense moment. "But, why? Why do you want to help the Mountains?"

Naveen flushed red, or would have if his skin was a healthy colour.

"I was speaking to your Tiana," He said, the suave bearings of a Prince vanishing into the form of a bashful teenager. "I was apologising for my behaviour when I arrived. I offered to 'elp 'er cook. I never really do anything for myself. We spoke, as you say, cordially and we got to zhe state of zhe Mountains. Anna had told me about zhe conditions and when I found out Tiana lives zhere, I decided to 'elp. She es a remarkable girl."

His honesty and genuine concern for the woman he snubbed touched Elsa. It also made her wonder what had triggered this sudden turn-around. Last time she had spoken to Tiana, the chef had still been stewing in anger over their introduction. Perhaps, from the sound of this, those feelings weren't as hateful as once-thought.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Elsa found herself saying, while the repressed, nosy aspect of her personality screamed for answers. "I hope you enjoy your party. Anna and… Hans have put a lot of effort into this."

Naveen smiled, but then suddenly seemed as if he was about to fall over as he looked momentarily queasy. He stumbled, and Elsa instinctively reached out to guide him to the chair. Once he was secure she handed him a glass of water which she had left on her dressing table. After a long drink, he seemed to recover quite quickly. The bout of dizziness passed like nothing Elsa had ever seen. Although, upon inspection, she recognised a few of his symptoms from a previous encounter.

"Are you alright?" She asked, briefly placing her hands against his forehead. His temperature was raised marginally and his skin was slightly slimy.

"Oui, et es just fatigue," Naveen was adamant on this, pulling himself to his feet. "I zhink zhe jet-lag es catching up with me. I may 'ave a small nap before zhe party begins."

Without saying much more, the Prince hobbled out of her dressing room in search of a spot to sleep. This left Elsa to analyse what she had just seen. Naveen was definitely off colour, it was hard to miss. He appeared to be suffering a headache, and was low on energy. Typically, an observer might identify these signs as those of a new strain of a cold. But Elsa had seen these same signs not two days previously, only a few hours before Anna had collapsed. Granted, her sister's case had not been quite as severe. But that only made Naveen's symptoms appear all the worse. Had he been given Voodoo? And if so, when?

Needing confirmation on her fears, Elsa chased Naveen down the hallways. A few of the guests had congregated in the Gallery, politely holding in their chortles as she unsteadily strode through on heels she was not used to. She decided she would change to her Vigilante boots as soon as she got back to the dressing room since she had unfortunately acclimated to them far better than any other shoe in her life. There was also the very real threat that she may actually need them before the night was over.

"Prince Naveen!" She called once he was in sight. He had taken a seat in a quiet hallway, most likely fending off another dizzy spell although he looked up at her voice all the same. "You said you had been to the Mountains? Did you, by any chance, meet a tall man from New Orleans?"

Naveen thought about for a moment, then livened up as he answered in the affirmative.

"Oui! 'E was in zhe bathroom at Senor Oaken's. 'E was a nice man," The Prince grinned slightly at the memory, unaware of the deadly nature of that 'nice man'. "Why do you ask?"

"He's just an acquaintance of mine. I wondered if he was around," This was not a complete lie on Elsa's part, which was important. It would not do now for the Prince to feel under threat. Not now that he'd agreed to fund the Noble Corporation. "Did anything _strange_ happen while you were at _Oaken's_?"

"Erm… Non. Not really." He answered, rubbing his fingertips absentmindedly. It was here that Elsa noticed a bandage wrapped around his middle and fore fingers.

"Did you cut yourself while you were there?" Elsa casually interrogated, focussing on the small wound. "Was that man there when you did it?"

"'E was, oui," Naveen replied, before pulling a largely sceptical face. "Why?"

"It's nothing to worry about, I'm just curious," She assured, fully intending to make good on her promises. If Facilier appeared here, she would not waste another chance to stop him. For now, she had to make sure the Prince couldn't be harmed. "Listen, Pabbie's downstairs. Do you want to see if he has anything to keep you awake?"

* * *

From his spot in the woods, just outside the gates of the Noble Estate, Dr Facilier watched the last car sidle over the threshold with the approval of the two guards. As far as he knew, and he considered he knew a lot given the invitation list had been fed to him, everyone who was going to make an appearance at Prince Naveen's Ball was there. The Mayor, the Chief of Police, Westerguard and that goddamn redhead were now guaranteed a front row seat to the show. All that remained was for the conductor to make his entrance.

He waited ten minutes before he left his hiding spot. Adjusting his tails and hat as he went, it wasn't long until the bulky guards spotted him. They guffawed at his appearance, obviously not appreciating the sartorial elegance he embodied. But it wouldn't be long until they learnt.

"Good evening, gents!" Facilier cried in greeting, raising his hat from strangely groomed hair which only made them grin more. "I'm here for a party!"

"Of course you are," The older guard laughed disbelievingly, but pulling out the guest list anyway. "Name?"

Facilier gasped dramatically, pulling the most outraged face he could muster. A hand flew to his chest as if to still his beating heart, but when he started speaking again neither guard noticed him slip it into his inside coat pocket.

"Do you not know who I _am_?" He asked, pretending to be hurt. "_Me_? You don't recognise me?"

"You're a creepy, spindly freak with his belly on show," The second guard threatened, looming on a level height with the dealer. "Now give us a name who we'll have to get rid of you, nice or not so nice."

"Alright, well I'm…" Facilier began, but then he tripped up the first guard with his cane.

Acting quicker than his relaxed, languid figure might suggest, Facilier swung with a powerful punch into the other guard's neck. He began choking in a spluttering shock which made him fall atop his companion and winding him further as his diaphragm was crushed. Facilier patiently waited whilst they scrambled to their feet, at which point he easily pushed one (he didn't pay attention to which) back to the ground. Drawing out one of his augmented aerosol cans, Facilier sprayed the standing guard as he gasped air back into his lungs. Soon after the guard fell into the woods across the road in a hallucinating mess.

With only one guard left, the dealer pressed his polished brogue into his throat with all the force he could muster.

"I'm the Shadowman." Facilier whispered, before twisting his foot and savouring the sickening _crunch_ of the guard's neck.

He dragged the corpse into the woodland brush, making sure to cover it with the leaves he had prepared for this eventuality, then straightened his coat. Pulling the skull mask from his pocket, Facilier balanced it over his eyes as he crossed the threshold into the Noble Estate.

* * *

So far, in all three hours Elsa had been in the mix of the party, she hadn't seen Anna dance with anyone other than Hans Westerguard. No matter the song, regardless of the other guests, with no consideration to proximity they had just danced or drank or had hors d'oeuvres. Anything where they were together. Both looked extremely happy with the arrangement, and Anna was smiling radiantly. Hans had an equally goofy grin plastered on his face. Elsa only struggled to keep her expressionless mask in place. In fact, she had failed to pay attention to who she was talking to, much like the sickening couple in the centre of the ballroom.

"…Don't you agree?" Someone, probably a wealthy conservative, asked her.

Elsa shook herself back into the moment, burying her protective sisterly thoughts for the time being. She honestly had no idea what the man had been talking, let alone who he was. He could have just given her a lecture about how Weselton's laissez faire was the greatest idea since sliced bread or how ridiculous Hans' muttonchops looked. Was this a statement she should agree with, or argue? There were just too many things to keep track of in her mind.

"Yes. Yes, I do. Wholeheartedly," Elsa decided, satisfied when the man nodded appreciatively. Now was her best chance to the interaction and find Pabbie. The issue of Prince Naveen was still a major concern. "Have you tried my chef's beignets? I'd recommend them, but if you excuse me I just need to speak with Mr Pabbie."

Sadly, she didn't get further than ten feet before one of the last people she wanted to see in the entire world sidled into her path. Even though he should be well aware of her contempt for him, Goddard had made himself very comfortable in her house. He was holding a champagne flute, one of three hundred crystal glasses Elsa had ordered for the event, very lazily. The expensive liquid dripped out when he moved, with drops falling into the first edition copy of _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ he had apparently retrieved from the Noble's library; unless, by some ridiculous coincidence, he also owned one and had decided to bring it to a ball. Worse still, on one arm he had a girl who could only be less than _half _ his age. Indeed, she was most likely younger than Elsa. This was not the meeting she needed right now.

"Elsa!" Goddard cried, using a familiarity she did not appreciate. "Gorgeous party! And a gorgeous house! I don't understand why your father never had his own party here."

"Mr Goddard," Elsa replied restrainedly. "How… _nice _to see you. If you don't mind, I just need to find Pabbie."

"Nonsense! What do you want that old troll for anyway?" The fatcat asked, before turning to his female companion. "Darling, could you fetch Miss Noble a drink? I think she needs to relax!"

Obediently, the girl smiled sickeningly sweetly and sauntered off into the crowds making sure to sachet her hips as she went. Elsa pretended not to be perturbed by this and was quickly distracted by Goddard putting a heavy arm around her. She cringed and wriggled out of the hold, although the boardmember had apparently expected this. He kept close behind her.

"So! How's it all with the Maldonian? I hear he's ill! What've you been feeding him?" He inquired, holding his gaze steadily critical with all drunken joviality now absent. Elsa did not like this side of him, especially not in her home.

"He's only experiencing jet lag, I've got Pabbie looking at him now," She answered coldly, feeling the ever present storm inside her growing again. This man had a certain way of pressing her buttons which brought her dangerously close to unleashing all the power of the supernatural. "And you may be glad to know that he's agreed to fund us. But we only get it as long as we put all into research."

Goddard seemed to mistake her acceptance of the conditions for disappointment of restriction, as he casually replied with; "Well, we can always change the accounts around. Not all of it has to go to that Troll's 'regenerative ointment'."

To say Elsa was outraged by this wilful neglect of everything the company stood for would be an understatement. For a scary second, she thought she might lose the tentative hold she had on her powers and create an icy stock to restrain the despicable man, but thankfully none of this came to be with resit due to the conductive nature of her Vigilante suit beneath her dress.

"I thought I was clear the other day, Goddard," Elsa lowly warned. "Decisions on where spending goes and where investment comes from are to go directly through me. I do not want you using money designated for bettering mankind to buy equipment we don't need! If I hear about anything like this again, I will fire you and make sure you never find another corporate job."

Whereas her first threat to him had Goddard terrified for his continued business influence, this time he regarded her coolly, took a pointed sip from his glass and explained his position.

"You were very clear, _Queen Elsa_, and you were right about the boardmember contract," He admitted, keeping his gaze harshly level with hers. His reference to her mocking title stung her. "But, having researched the conditions, I found that there was more to your father's arrangement with the board. Basically, if the board unanimously votes no confidence in you, you lose your job. And, having emailed around, it turns out _none_ of the boardmembers like you. The only person keeping you and your druggie sister supported is that old troll you're so fond of. So imagine what might happen if an accident were to befall _him_."

Simultaneously, Elsa's hatred and fear of Goddard swelled. It was true. If the board wanted to, they could dismiss her without any guilt on their part. Everything was legal in this sense. The only protection she had was Pabbie's continued presence in the Noble Corporation. Of course, Elsa could fire Goddard right now, in the middle of a party celebrating Prince Naveen's visit. But then someone else would take his place, and would likely emulate his predecessor enough to hold the same opinion of the CEO. She would be ultimately left in the same position. What little control she had of the family company had just vanished.

"You will leave Pabbie alone," Elsa found herself threatening. "Otherwise you may find yourself fighting something you can't deal with."

She could feel the ice forming on the tips of her fingers, a fact everyone else was unaware of due to her thick gloves. If Goddard was aware of her alter ego, who may not be as forgiving, he could find himself in a similar position to George Jones. Although perhaps this time there would be more than one icicle embedded in more than one body part. A small part of her said the Arendelle Vigilante should pay him a visit.

At this point Goddard's barely legal arm candy made a reappearance with two glasses of champagne. She offered Elsa one with a vacant grin, although the Cheshire Cat face fell when her offer was rebuffed so coldly. The host of the party took her leave at this point, not noticing how ice cubes which weren't there previously formed in the left behind drinks. Thankfully, Goddard and the girl were too preoccupied with exaggeratedly enjoying themselves to spot the change either.

Elsa's attention was quickly caught again by the long-awaited appearance of Pabbie. He had slid silently into the room, making a beeline towards her with a notably anxious expression. Whatever news he carried was obviously not what Elsa wanted to hear but equally what she had expected.

"How is he?" She asked by way of greeting, walking briskly around the circumference of the room to prevent anyone from purposefully hearing them.

"He's had a few glasses of water, and I've given him a few painkillers," Pabbie reported, sparing a glance towards the long hallway. "But his symptoms match all the articles on Voodoo and all the police reports Kristoff sent us. At some point Facilier's managed to inject him."

Elsa digested this, wondering how to deal with this potential international disaster. Like Anna, Prince Naveen would soon experience a Voodoo attack. Like Anna, he had encountered Facilier and came away with a delayed poisoning. A delayed poisoning. Her lamentations unexpectedly brought her to a new line of enquiry. While she had been hunting Facilier down and beating herself up over her failures, Elsa had completely failed to realise the difference between her experience with Voodoo and Anna's.

"Pabbie, in those police reports was it mentioned how long it was between a sighting of Facilier and Voodoo taking effect?" She enquired; realisation and a new theory dawning on her.

The old man thought over this briefly, before calculating a statistic based on what he read. "Most of the victims saw Facilier twice: when they first met and again, just before Voodoo entered the bloodstream. On average, maybe sixteen hour passed."

"And did he go near them during the second encounter?"

"No… No, he didn't," Pabbie quickly made the same realisations Elsa had. "And he never had a chance to sell it to them, either."

"Apart from when he used it on me, which was instantaneous," Elsa winced at the memory, her skin still crawling from the effects of the drug. "Otherwise there was no way to inject them with it. So he must have given it to them in the first meeting."

"The blood samples!" Pabbie jumped when he thought of this, having to stop their wandering for just a moment. "In every blood sample, including Anna's, there was small evidence of molecular nanocages."

These crucial facts made all of Facilier's erratic movements make sense. As all the reports agreed, it was only the self-styled bokor who made and sold Voodoo. There was no way he could inject Anna or any of his other victims with the drug to cause their collapses if it was an instantaneous effect, like it had been with Elsa. And now, with the news of the nanocages and his frequent returns, his plot was obvious. He had been testing remote poisoning, most likely to find out his range for detonating the molecular restraints on Voodoo and how long the drug remained inside the body before it was filtered out. Elsa shamed herself when she realised she had ignored the fact Facilier had even referred to Anna as a 'test subject' in front of her. All this had been in preparation for Prince Naveen's visit. At least, there was no other reason for the coincidence of a drug dealer appearing mere _weeks _before a royal. Especially when Facilier had gone to the trouble of injecting Naveen as well.

"Guys!" Olaf called in hushed voice from behind them. Both Elsa and Pabbie leapt around to look him, all three wide-eyed and close to panic. "I don't mean to alarm anyone, and this is a great party, but Facilier's in the garden!"

"What?" Elsa whispered back, immediately peering towards the nearest window. "Are you sure?"

"I was admiring the flowerbeds on the patio," Olaf needlessly related. All he had to do was confirm whether Facilier was there or not. "And I swear I saw that bone mask next to the lake! He's back for Anna!"

"Olaf, he's not after Anna," Elsa replied, wanting to distance her psyche from _that_ goldmine of fear. "It's the Prince. Why is he hiding in the garden?"

"He's probably biding his time," Pabbie reasoned, holding on to his calm demeanour much better than the other two. "If he's going to poison the Prince, he'll probably want it to be public. Make sure people see Naveen die in the_ Noble_ Mansion."

As if all the fates were against them, Kai burst through doors to the ballroom and _clinked_ a glass to gather everyone's attention. A uniform silence fell across the room, keeping all the guests quiet in their expectation of seeing the famed Prince Naveen.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Kai started, milking the moment. "May I present to you, His Royal Majesty Prince Naveen!"

The Prince looked far more like his usual self as he glided through the doorway with a woman in tow. Elsa half expected him to collapse at that moment due to Facilier's interference, but was actually pleasantly surprised by the fact he remained upright. The band; a jazz group known as the _Firefly Five, plus Lou_, broke into a rendition of classical Maldonian music on their trumpets, making the beat livelier than it really should have been. The noises did not help Elsa relax.

"Facilier will probably attack after the Prince has been in here for a while," Pabbie pointed out, reasonably. "That way, his death will be linked more with you than an assassin."

"Well, he's not going to do it, because I'm going to beat the crap out of him." Elsa determinedly argued, glaring out of the nearest window into the darkening garden.

"That's the most badass thing I've ever heard you say!" Olaf giggled, having separated himself from the mood of the little group. It wasn't even that badass.

As Elsa was about to march away from the party to change, Pabbie grabbed her arm to restrain her. He looked at her imploringly, willing her to wait for him to explain his idea. Knowing he would only do so for the best of reasons, Elsa stopped and turned to listen.

"You can't just disappear at your own party," He reminded her. "Facilier will probably not attack for a while yet. Make sure enough people see you to place you here, and then go."

Elsa nodded, slowly, before tiptoeing to the head of the room where almost everyone would be able to see her, if only for a few minutes.

"Olaf," Pabbie said once Elsa was visible to the guests. There were still other factors which had to be taken care of. "Call Kristoff, tell him to get here as soon as possible. I'm going to make sure Anna is out of the way. It will help Elsa focus."

Olaf just nodded, before waddling off to make the call.

* * *

Although she hadn't realised who Naveen's company was when they had first entered the room, it didn't take long for Elsa to recognise the normally determined face of Tiana beaming as she was swept around in a traditional Maldonian dance. Tiana had never seemed the type to be enamoured by anyone, least of all a Prince whom she had only met two days ago. But here she was, enjoying herself. Elsa didn't actually know she could dance.

This shouldn't have been her first observation as she surveyed the ballroom. Instead, she should be counting how many people spotted her before making a well-timed exit to ensure her secret was kept safe. Unfortunately, most of the people were stuck gawking at the Prince, who they had probably never heard of before last week. Almost no one saw her, and it was of the utmost importance at least twenty registered her presence.

Luckily, an eye-catching individual snuck up on Elsa at that moment. When she pounced on her sister, Elsa gasped loudly and drew a few curious stares for the disturbance of the loud blues echoing over the high ceiling.

"Hey! It'sh you!" Anna slurred, draping herself over Elsa's shoulder and laughing madly. "Where've you been?! I've been shaying to Hansh, I've been shaying 'I want to shee if my shishter can dance'!"

She stumbled around to stand beside Elsa, gloriously tipsy and swaying lightly from side to side. The elder Noble could only wonder just how much the underage woman had been drinking; the rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes could only say so much about her condition.

"Anna," Elsa said sternly. "Are you drunk?"

Almost as if she was conspiring, Anna leant in to Elsa's ear before half-whispering, half-giggling "Maybe!"

Even if there wasn't the impending threat of an assassination attempt, the evening could still be disastrous for the Noble Corporation. Already quite a few of the guests must have seen Anna's less than sober decorum, and were probably reminded of a similar incident from four years ago. Who knew what the investors were thinking. If one of the heiresses of a billion dollar company had consumed this much alcohol at age nineteen, they may not take the business seriously. It certainly wouldn't raise their standing in Goddard's eyes.

"Maybe you should have a glass of water? Lie down for a bit." Elsa suggested, hoping her sister would see through her stupor to the importance of the evening. Sadly, she didn't.

"Nah! I'm fine!" The redhead became adamant on proving her sobriety, walking in a poorly balanced straight line in front of Elsa. Soon after, her attention was caught by Tiana's gleeful presence on the dancefloor. "Aw! Look at Tia! She'sh sho happy!"

"Anna, please, quiet." Elsa attempted to shush, unfortunately to no avail.

"You need to find shomeone, Elsha!" Anna continued, looking her dead in the eye.

Now that Anna's focus had shifted onto her love life, Elsa took the chance to ignore her sister's slurred words to count the number of people staring at them. There were enough now to place her in the ballroom and if she could just excuse herself from her sister, she'd be able to get even with a man she despised more than anyone else.

"Yesh! That'sh what you need! A guy!" Anna continued, before stopping and gasping. "Then you could double date with me and Hansh!"

"Wait, what?" Despite herself, Elsa's determination had been corrupted by this drunken admission. "You're dating Hans?"

"Yesh!" Anna proudly declared, standing unsteadily resolute. "He ashked me out about half an hour ago. I like him. And if you don't like him, then tough!"

She stuck her tongue out, making Elsa angry enough to reach for her glove and prepare to freeze Hans Westerguard to the side of a jet.

"Where ish he?" Anna asked when she realised Hans was nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, someone appeared at their side to prevent Elsa from making her timely escape.

"A-ha! Miss Noble and Miss Noble," Mayor Weselton exclaimed in an overly cordial manner. "How is the evening treating you?"

"Very well, thank you," Elsa said through gritted teeth, covering Anna's mouth to prevent her from speaking. "And yourself?"

"I haven't enjoyed myself this much since my election party," Weselton replied, swiping a gloved hand through his unconvincing toupee. On the dance floor, more couples had filtered into a ballroom movement which the Mayor motioned to in a gentlemanly fashion. "Would you care for a dance? A pretty girl like you shouldn't be sitting on the side lines."

Elsa dully thought she could do whatever she wanted because it was her goddamn house, but she withheld herself from any biting remarks in the name of holding onto political alliances. She was feeling the pressure more than ever now that she had to go find Facilier.

"Sadly, I don't dance," Elsa declined, trying to find any substitute so she could get away. "But Anna's very good at it."

Anna found herself delighted by the idea of dancing again, and wasted no time in grabbing onto the Mayor and pulling him to the dancefloor.

"Yeah! Let'sh go make my boyfriend jealoush!" She called, followed by a strangely enthusiastic old man.

"Watch out," He warned, following her on spry feet. "My mother always said I dance like a monkey with the face of a chicken!"

Before anything else could get in her way, Elsa discretely but hurriedly made her way out of the ballroom. Once safely out of the way in an unused cloakroom she pulled off the stuffy dress and stowed it under a pile of Anna's winter coats. With her mask on and braid down, she leapt out of the window and softly onto the lawn.

Her path of pursuit for the drug dealer took her past one of the ballroom windows. She glanced through it on her way, quickly locating Prince Naveen in the centre of the room. Beside him, Mayor Weselton was prancing around Anna. She almost cringed when he dipped her sister so far that her back must have cracked.

* * *

Sitting quite casually on a bench, which was positioned on the opposite side of the ballroom to Elsa, Facilier watched the party unfurl from the shadows. He had promised himself he wouldn't kill the Prince until he had been in the party for at least fifteen minutes, but the itch was too tempting to scratch. Having put weeks of thought into this single act, Facilier desperately wanted to see his plan come to fruition. One dead Prince, three million big boys for a nice house in New Orleans from the White Knight. It seemed pretty even to him.

Prince Naveen flitted across the window's line of vision, with a girl Facilier thought he recognised matching him in pace and mood. Any minute now, he could do it. Any minute. And then another man would go to his friends on the other side.

Any minute.

The temptation kept niggling at him, urging him to step over to the window, take out the detonator for the Voodoo and watch the show unfurl. Surely, nothing terrible would happen if he killed the Prince just a few minutes early. No one would see him. Despite all the warning about the wrath of Elsa Noble, he couldn't see her getting in the way. And the Vigilante had already been dealt with. There really wasn't anything to stop him now.

So, indulging himself, Facilier reached for the skull-shaped talisman around his neck and rose from his seat. Five minutes, and he'd be out of here.

But when he stepped forward, he slipped on an icy stone and fell to the ground. Angry, humiliated and knowing just who could have caused that Facilier leapt back to his feet to find the last person he expected to see.

Then a cold, bare fist smashed into his jaw and a heel span around to below his kneecap. That had taken him by surprise.

"Leave now." The Vigilante ordered, watching as Facilier spitefully stretched his jaw out and clambered to stand over her.

"Or what?" He asked, jabbing her with his cane.

She grabbed the cane and wrenched it from his grip. With one knee thrust, the Vigilante shattered the navy blue wood before swiping both splintered remains at his chest. He dodged her slices, but not before she cut below his cheekbone with a jagged claw of wood.

"Or you leave in an ambulance." She warned, pausing her relaxed attack to give him a chance to answer. This was a different approach to what he had seen last time. In the factory, it had all been confrontation. Now, the Vigilante seemed more willing to negotiate. And Facilier thought he knew why.

"It's because of _this_, isn't it?" He mocked, pulling out of his Voodoo canisters. Pointing it towards the Vigilante, he was happy to see that she took a step back. "All those fancy ice tricks are no good to you when I have this, aren't they? So what are you going to do?"

The Vigilante's answer was almost instant, and not the one Facilier wanted to hear.

"I'm going to put you down."

Aggravated by this hindrance, Facilier pressed down on the release button. However, instead of a spray flying directly into the Vigilante, the small cloud condensed and _pattered_ to ground as a toxic rain. When he tried again, he had the same result.

Then the Vigilante snatched the canister out of his hand and turned his own weapon on him.

"My ice tricks are useful with this." She taunted, before giving Facilier a heavy dose of his own drug.

He spluttered and gasped, choking on the acrid mist he had forced on hundreds of others. His legs gave out underneath him, his blood infected by the cocktail of poisons streaming across his body. It hit his brain in less than a minute; giving him visions of everything he believed in. Ghouls and monsters and shadows danced before him. He had been reduced to the wrecks he had left many others in.

But as the Vigilante turned away, preparing to look out for her police support, she failed to take into account the prolonged exposure Facilier had with Voodoo. It is a well-known development that medications used repeatedly in small doses tend to lose their effect on their users, this phenomenon being the basis of vaccinations. So when Facilier inhaled his strengthened concoction of Voodoo, which he had spent the last month working on, it hadn't had the desired effect. Instead of neutralising him, it made him all the more violent and enraged him.

The Vigilante didn't see him coming when he barrelled into her from behind.

* * *

**To be continued…**

**Please Review.**


	13. The Voodoo Plot - Part Six

**And here we are, the last chapter for the Facilier plot line. I think this chapter's a bit more jumpy in terms of narrative; there were lots of things I wanted to get in because I don't think it would have worked otherwise. Hopefully it's still readable. Admittedly, the choreography gave me a few issues and I don't think I've done Tiana and Naveen justice in this story (the focus is meant to be more on Elsa, but still).**

**The weekly thanks must not be forgotten, especially to Batman 1809 who read the entire thing in about a day. Eighty-thousand words is the length of the average novel and I thank for taking the time to sit down and go through it all. Also, to Acid, there is a reason why Elsa hates Hans and they have met before, but it will be a while until it's fully revealed.**

**Since I'm updating this at near midnight, it won't be surprising if any mistakes are found (I can find loads when I reread chapters) and thank you for protecting my ego and not pointing them out. I really need to find a beta-reader. **

**Happy reading!**

* * *

"Hang on, Olaf, you're sure Facilier's at the Estate?" Kristoff asked, dropping his donut back into the Krispy Kreme box.

Sven sat up beside him, head twitching as if he was capable of hearing and understanding what Olaf was saying hurriedly on the other end of the phone. A few cars rushed along the interstate on the outskirts of Arendelle, although none exceeded the speed limit and thus were neither of their concerns. If he went to the Noble Estate, it was unlikely anyone would notice his absence on this shift. None of the other cops give chase for speeding cars anyway. And he would be helping to save a lot of important people, including a royal, so in the long run leaving his post would be forgivable.

There was, however, a problem if Kristoff were to arrive at the scene of a crime (involving the Vigilante, no less) fifteen miles from his registered position without the emergency services being alerted first. Captain Latimer had already asked him where he had been for three hours on the night Facilier robbed the Noble Factory, which had led the rookie officer to outright _lie _to a superior. It wouldn't do him or Elsa any favours if the Police recognised a link between himself and the one person they were actually pursuing. If Kristoff was going to help the Vigilante crusade, they were all going to have to play this carefully.

"_I'm pretty sure, hold on," _Olaf replied, sounding distracted momentarily. _"Yeah! Els- The Vigilante just punched him in the face! Looks like it didn't work as much as she wanted."_

Groaning from this turn of events, Kristoff immediately switched on his sirens and light; pulling swiftly out of the layby he was parked in. There was a turning two miles up the road which would let him turn around to head towards the Estate. At the rate other vehicles were pulling out of his way and factoring in the remoteness of Elsa's house, he could be there in fifteen minutes.

"Alright, I'm on my way," He reported, swerving between the traffic whilst Sven wobbled unsteadily in the passenger seat. "Do me a favour, call the actual police. That way I can officially be there and _act_."

He had a horrible feeling he may have to fire his gun before the night was out. Hopefully this time Elsa wouldn't freeze it.

"_But Pabbie said-…" _Olaf began, but then paused. "_Probably for the best. Facilier's just tackled Elsa to the ground!"_

"Okay, Olaf, tell me if anything goes wrong," Kristoff instructed, increasing his speed. He had witnessed first-hand what Elsa was capable of under the influence of Voodoo. It didn't bear thinking about if it happened again. "Make sure everyone's out the way, but keep them calm. I'll be with you in ten minutes."

Without waiting for Olaf's response, Kristoff clicked off his phone and pressed down on the accelerator to well over one-hundred miles per hour.

* * *

In hindsight, using Voodoo on Facilier had been a poor choice on Elsa's part. Having been aware of the effects of medications and drugs since she had first learnt to walk, his altered biochemistry should have been expected. Although it wasn't as if she had the time to consider all her options in the heat of the moment. It was either stop him or let him kill Prince Naveen, and using the little canister just seemed too sweet a temptation of poetic justice to resist. Now he was unpredictable, and she could feel it as he pummelled any part of her he could hit relentlessly.

He was currently crouched over her back, one elbow pressing painfully into her spine whilst bringing his free hand down again and again. His weight placed an unpleasant pressure against her skeleton; crushing her chest into the ground hard enough to actually cause her difficulties breathing in. Thankfully, when he punched into her arms or her shoulders the suit cushioned the blows. It was when he realised stabbing into her head, even though he did not possess a knife, that the damage was beginning to be felt. With only two quick blows Elsa was dizzy, with her vision blurring and beginning to have supreme difficulties in formulating a way out of his hold.

The third, much heavier strike forced Elsa's forehead into the cobbled driveway; making her wince for the pain but also reminding her of her position. Facilier then held her face against the jagged stones before standing up and kicking her in the stomach in a weaker assault due to his lowered position. This left Elsa with the brief opportunity to fling her elbow upwards and connect a fist with the back of his knee.

Facilier stumbled, tripping over her fallen form and tumbling to the ground beside her. Grasping another chance, Elsa rolled into him and jammed her elbow into his low stomach; just below the waistcoat. He painfully gasped, but grabbed hold of her forearm before she could withdraw fully and began twisting it back to a severe angle. Elsa could feel her ligaments begin to tear under the increasing force, her muscles screaming to be released. Unfortunately, she was unable to make use of her other hand as Facilier kicked his leg over her torso and pinned her opposite arm to her side. Like a cobra he began squeezing his shins together to crush her diaphragm while gleefully pulling away at her arm.

Elsa gritted her teeth as her shoulder began to creak and the twisting sensation met a crucial point of tension which built in excessive magnitudes of pain. She could barely feel her fingers at this stage, although she knew they were not aimed in the direction she wanted. If she had complete control, there would be no restraint on her part in using whatever forces of the cold she could muster. But her palm was facing away from Facilier, and while an arctic storm was brewing in her veins there was no conceivable outlet.

Until she felt a bone pop. Then there was a freezing blast and Facilier was flung away from her to crash into the bench, which splintered under his weight. Between them there was now an expanse of smooth ice and slanted icicles to keep the pair separated, giving Elsa the time to snap her shoulder back into place.

Her cry of pain in the act refocused Facilier, rousing him from his daze. At once he was back on his feet, charging towards her with an inhuman yell.

This time, Elsa was much more prepared to deal with his assault. When he went for her throat she was able to use a wedging block to keep his arms wide and his stance open. Before he could spot the twist in her frame she had kneed him the hip, span around to reverse kick his upper chest and then dived to snap a punch to his lower jaw. The response left the animalistic remnants of Facilier dazed, but not as injured as such an attack would produce. Instead, he swiped with roughened nails for her face.

Again, she was able to knock him away with relative ease and slam her forearm against his chest in an outer forearm strike. He grunted under the blow, but he came at her again, apparently unaware of any great pain she was causing.

The off-yellow skull-shaped remote jangled around his neck, forgotten by its owner for the moment. Elsa was aware that Facilier could turn around and make use of it at any moment, making all her efforts in stopping him pointless as he would undoubtedly cause a divide between the Noble Corporation and the Maldonian royal family at the very least. At worst, a chasm would open between North America and Europe. That was not a situation anyone on the planet would enjoy.

One of Facilier's clawed nails dragged along the back of Elsa's hand, drawing a thin red line which swelled as the crimson liquid began to dribble out. Another deep scratch was made under her ear, while a third was slashed at her neck above the mandarin collar. The small wounds stung greatly. Whatever chemicals had clung to Facilier's fingers in the production of Voodoo were now spread along the open cuts, not having quite the same impact as a full dose of the drug would have but biting at her concentration nonetheless.

Improvising, to get the detonator at least, Elsa formed a block of ice behind Facilier's shins before pushing him over with a powerful gust of wind. As he fell backwards, she lunged out for the necklace. However, the dealer caught hold of her again, pulling her with him on his descent. To counter, Elsa kicked off the ground with what purchase she had; using her free hand to support herself as she flipped over the fallen Facilier. The chain on the detonator snapped from around his neck, coming away in Elsa's hand as she unevenly landed upright.

Unfortunately, Facilier had spotted her clumsily artful theft of his equipment and pounced up to wrestle the device. He acted with such a speed that Elsa had very little time to react. Placing one foot between hers, the Louisianan tried to swipe her off her feet while trying to squeeze her hand into a release or alternatively press down on the activator. Feeling his fingers clamp down on the tender cut, Elsa released the detonator.

With little option left, Elsa left loose with the strengthening powers which had grown uninterrupted beneath her skin. A storm blast, with a full complement of horizontal hail and whirling frost, pushed Facilier away from her. He struggled against the forces of nature, trying to dig his brogues into gravel and cobbles to no success. Like a rag doll he flew off the ground and was carried across the open space into whatever obstacle he would meet first.

It just so happened he flew directly into a ballroom window.

* * *

Olaf darted among the merry dancers on the hunt for anyone of higher authority in the building. Someone who would believe him when he instructed them to leave, and could make the rich and elite follow. There were only three people he could think of who could manage that. Unfortunately the one who would have been the most convincing was fighting a madman a mere fifteen feet outside the building.

After struggling through the throngs of board members, Olaf eventually spotted Pabbie standing at the buffet table. He was with Anna, who was looking out of her mind with alcohol, and a worried looking woman who had been dancing with the Prince last time Olaf had checked. She was busy holding Anna back whilst the Prince was pouring two large glasses of water nearby.

"Pabbie!" Olaf hissed once he was within earshot. "Kristoff said we have to get everyone out, we need to call the police!"

Before Pabbie could answer with a reluctant counter-order, Anna spotted the little man and her excitement increased.

"Hey!" She gleefully exclaimed, enwrapping Olaf in a tight hug which he wasn't so adverse to. "It'sh you! What'sh your name? Olly? Oshcar?"

"Olaf!" He corrected, momentarily forgetting the imminent danger.

"Yesh! Olaf!" Anna repeated, swaying from side-to-side when she finally released him. "You were there jusht before I wash kidnapped! I have to ashk you; doesh Elsha shtill shleep with that old fox teddy?"

Pabbie somewhat forcefully pulled Anna out of the way, handing her over to the Prince who handed her a full glass of water and accompanied her in downing the drink. It seemed the small group were trying to sober up the redhead before any real damage could be done. If only they knew the damage that was coming their way.

"How on Earth are we going to get these people out of the ballroom? Where do we send them?" Pabbie questioned, eyes fixed on the mass of one hundred people. "What can we do to convince them to calmly walk out of the room?"

As if in answer, a far window smashed as a lump of a body was thumped against the floor by an almighty wind. Every other movement in the room stopped as all eyes were suddenly on the dishevelled dark-skinned bohemian who contorted in discomfort amongst the shards of glass. Very few knew who he was, and subsequently did not feel it necessary to step back from the danger that presented itself.

Olaf and Pabbie heard a small whimper from behind them, turning to see Anna backed up against the table when she realised Facilier had just fallen into the room. Her eyes screamed fear whilst her body ceased functioning at the vision. This was her one place of complete safety in Arendelle. And now it had been intruded upon. The pair were worried for a moment that Anna might faint from the conditioned horror.

"Where'sh Elsha?" She quietly slurred, searching for her sister in the frozen crowd.

Prince Naveen, on the other hand, was more pleasantly surprised by the new arrival, if not perturbed by his entrance.

"Zhat es zhe man I met in zhe Mountains," He recalled to Tiana, who looked at him in amazement at his obliviousness. "Et's nice to see you again, friend!"

"Don't you know who that is?" Tiana asked him in a no-nonsense New Orleans accent. "That's the Shadowman!"

Said Shadowman twisted himself to standing, brushing the glass from his clothes with one hand. Once he was done he began searching the room, quickly spotting Naveen amongst the glitz and glamour at the far end of the room. Lifting his other hand, he pointed the talisman in his right hand towards the Prince, ready to end his life without anyone being aware that was what he was doing.

Then a blast of ice hit him in the back, knocking the talisman from his hand.

A blue figure vaulted through the shattered window, suit glinting in the soft light and pose ready to take on the world. It was at her appearance that everyone started screaming and trying to get out of the ballroom. Pabbie and Olaf were only too happy to help.

"Anna!" A familiar voice called from their side. In the heat of the moment, Hans Westerguard made an unnoticed reappearance from wherever he had been for the last fifteen minutes. He headed straight for the younger Noble, taking her purposefully by the hand. "We need to get out!"

"No we don't," Anna disagreed, refusing to be budged from her stance. All her apprehension at the sight of Facilier had faded now. "It'sh the Vigilante!"

"And that's why we have to go!" Hans insisted, to no avail.

Surprisingly, Olaf observed, Hans did not seem to particularly care about the Prince. Naveen had remained in the same spot, looking bewildered by the ordeal. Having only met Hans earlier this evening, Olaf wasn't too certain about his priorities; but he had spoken a lot about monarchy the brilliance of meeting a Prince. It would be unlikely for him to turn around and leave the Prince behind in an escape. Of course, it was arguable that Anna was far more important to Hans than a stranger, and Tiana was doing her best to budge Naveen towards the exit before it was filled with preoccupied business people. It just seemed notable.

* * *

The mad rush of people trying to escape the ballroom at her presence more than Facilier's hurt Elsa slightly. It was an unreasonable reaction to have, but it was a reaction nonetheless. To think that these were people she was trying to keep safe seemed almost ludicrous when they feared her so much. She hadn't even done anything to them. There had been more instances where she had beaten a criminal than she had attacked an innocent civilian. This was a perfect example of her vilification by the media.

"Monster!" Mayor Weselton cried as she advanced to the centre of the room. The scarecrow-sized man tried to push his way through the crowds after taking the chance to yell at her.

On the opposite side of the room Elsa could see the people she cared about most, not running at her appearance like everyone else had. For Pabbie and Olaf this was understandable, but Anna had frozen in place to watch her with awe. Hans was at her side, attempting to drag her away to no avail. Elsa and Anna met eyes for only a fleeting moment; from a far enough distance to still render the blonde a stranger to her sister or at least, Elsa hoped so. Then she spotted Prince Naveen, who was equally enraptured by the Arendelle Vigilante. Tiana was watching Facilier with a fearful expression, but she had unknowingly placed herself between him and the Prince. That position would not keep Naveen any safer if Facilier retrieved the remote. All their efforts would be for nought if he did.

Refocusing on the task at hand, Elsa charged across the broken glass and left a trail of frost behind her. As Facilier scrambled across the shards for the detonator she flew into his side with a forward kick. Something audibly _snapped_ in his chest, leaving his short of breath although it did little to stop his efforts. Having been kicked over onto his back, Elsa took the chance to reach for the skull talisman only a few short away. But then Facilier weakly pounced and knocked her out of way. She grabbed hold of his lapel, pulling him off balance with her and pressed on the area she had wounded. He gave a shrill cry, elbowing her in the face and stunning her in the process.

Quickly gathering her senses and sweeping one arm under his shoulder, Elsa dislocated Facilier's left arm. She then pushed him back to the glass covered floor, making sure to let him fall on the jagged edges before diving for the remote again.

Just as she was about to clasp her fingers around it, a large shard of glass sliced through the air and caught her fingers. Instinctively, Elsa withdrew her hand and sheltered it against her body as she crashed to the floor. Blood dripped from the new, deeper cuts and spread out over the wood panelling. As a precaution, she froze these drops to prevent any authorities lifting it as evidence.

Like a serpent, Facilier crawled past on his good hand. He brushed the edges of the activating button, nearly enough pressure to kill the Prince, when Elsa span around on the floor and kicked the device across the room. It slid along the ice covered hardwood without interruption, bouncing slightly on the undulations of the damp ground and eventually slipping to a stop a mere three metres from Pabbie and Olaf.

Facilier sprung up from his position, ready to charge straight into small group at the far end of the room. Given his closing proximity there was really no point to using the detonator anymore, however his mind was too erratic to form a new coherent plan. A part of him had realised his new chance, having kept a hold of another long shard of glass in case he had to cut down anyone in his way. The edges of the improvised weapon cut deep lines into the palm of his hand.

Before he could get any closer than five metres, Elsa tackled him onto his side. He tried to pierce her chest with the shard, but the integrity of the suit only shattered the fragile blade.

"Destroy the skull!" Elsa cried through the voice modifier, catching the attention of the straggling escapees and, more importantly, her few friends who were slowly being cornered by her and Facilier's struggle.

Before Olaf could make a single move, Tiana flashed past him to scoop up the tan-coloured remote. Elsa hadn't really expected her chef to involve herself quite so readily but her determination was admirable. Facilier could only watch as she flung the small talisman against the ground, where it broke into hundreds of little pieces and rendered it useless as a weapon.

The scream he released at the sight of all his work coming undone was not one any of them wanted to hear. With renewed rage, Facilier managed to fling Elsa over his shoulder before lunging at the Prince with an outstretched hand aimed towards his neck. He was practically rabid by this point, and Elsa had been left winded after being slammed into the floor again. In the time it would take her to regain her breath and engage him again he could have killed the Prince with his bare hands. She could only watch as he pushed Tiana out the way when she tried to get in his way.

But then there was an almighty _bang _and Facilier slumped against the wall. As he slid to the ground, a long smear of blood was left. Soon after, while her ears were still ringing, Elsa noticed a dog had started barking. Sven pelted into her line of vision, racing to sit atop the fallen Facilier who only groaned in pain.

Amidst the chaos of the Prince reaching for Tiana and Pabbie kneeling down beside the dealer to minimally staunch the bleeding, Elsa found Anna still in the same spot against the buffet table. Hans looked shaken by the ordeal, visibly pale and uneasy on his feet. Every few seconds he glanced towards Anna, but she was staring quite intently at shape she recognised as the Vigilante, and hopefully nothing more.

As her breathing became more regular, Elsa felt a new presence behind her. A strong hand pulled her to her feet, a little roughly, and twisted her arms behind her back.

"Pretend to fight me." Kristoff quietly instructed, keeping his grip on her loose. In the distance Elsa could make out the sirens reserved for police use only and understood what he meant.

With a half-hearted twist and a shove of an elbow into his stomach, Elsa broke Kristoff's hold. Without looking back, she sprinted for the open window, dived through it and disappeared into the night-time garden.

Ten minutes later an immaculate Elsa Noble made her reappearance. No one realised she had been gone for the crucial minutes.

* * *

The remains of the evening played out much as Elsa expected. Police support arrived minutes after Kristoff had shot and restrained Facilier, and had promptly assembled the traumatised guests for mass questioning. People like Goddard and Weselton placed a huge emphasis on the role of the Vigilante in the attack, a claim many of the other guests sheepishly agreed with them when the officers interrogated. In the scheme of things, the focus on Facilier was largely reduced by the continued witch-hunt, but did not escape arrest as Kristoff quickly carted him off to the Precinct after 'interviewing' Elsa, Anna, Pabbie and Olaf. Prince Naveen refused the offer to be set up in a hotel within the city, although he did not avoid having increased security for the rest of the night. His concerns lay mostly with Tiana, who, as far as Elsa was aware, was not seen far from him until her morning duties.

In all, it took the Police three hours to; cordon off the ballroom, sweep for evidence (most of which had been destroyed by water and ice) and question half of the witnesses about the attempt on the Prince's life. The actual means of murder were not realised at the time, although Pabbie noted that he would anonymously send a full report on Facilier's method to the precinct once the heat was off the Vigilante, with reference to the police records to prove nothing as fabricated. Once that was all over, it was nearing four in the morning. The guests literally couldn't leave fast enough and Elsa was all too happy when the door finally shut behind the humble form of Pabbie. From the murmured words she caught through her rapidly resting ears, it sounded like he intended to head straight to North Mount Station.

After a quick search, she found Anna sleeping in the gallery. Rather than disturb her sister, Elsa opted instead to retrieve a blanket and a pillow from her room. She didn't notice or particularly care that Hans, who was now officially a boyfriend of Anna's, had left hours before.

* * *

"Grazie, Elsa! Grazie, Anna!" Prince Naveen enthusiastically thanked, leaning to kiss their knuckles in true gentlemanly manner. The poor night of sleep hadn't affected him in the slightest, and he was back to his usual self after having finally processed the nanocaged Voodoo to no negative effect. "I 'ope I 'ave not been too difficult."

"Well," Elsa reservedly replied, humorously hinting at the events of last night. "Let's just say I've never had a Vigilante in my house before."

Beside her, Anna leant against the doorframe in a not so subtle manner. Her hair was in complete disarray, but she was beyond caring as she desperately tried to cling to sleep behind the heavily tinted sunglasses. Every now and again, she would make a noise which could be mistaken as conversation, although it rarely fit into what anyone was saying and couldn't be interpreted for any meaning. Even the smallest of noises made her groan under a horrible headache, but she put up with the necessary farewells for the sake of manners.

Just inside the doorway, Tiana watched the Prince make his goodbyes. She offered him a small wave which he graciously returned with his trademark grin. This did not go beyond Elsa's notice.

"Well, ef you ever get zhe chance to speak to zhis Vigilante, zhank 'er for my life," Naveen assures, eyes still on Tiana. "I owe 'er, and if she needs anything; assistance or asylum, I will 'elp."

Elsa nodded, unsure of how to take that message. Did Naveen know about her alter ego? Or was this merely the only way he could think of contacting his hero? Four nights of active duty as the Vigilante, and she was already paranoid. The rational part of her mind forced her to remember that not one of the hundred guests had recognised that Elsa Noble and the Vigilante were one and the same. And she had been far closer to some of those than the Prince. Hell, her own _sister _didn't spot the charade, even though Anna had had three encounters with the Icicle.

On a separate note, Elsa scratched the Icicle off her mental list of possible names for her secret identity. There had to be a name on par with Flynn Rider and the Archer.

"Should I see her, I'll pass on the message," Elsa assured, doing her best to not look surprised. "Thank you for staying with us, Your Majesty, you're very welcome to come again."

"You know," Naveen responded as he climbed into the waiting car, his eyes on Tiana again. "I zhink I might."

Without many further exchanges, Naveen exited the Noble Estate much as he'd arrived; in a non-descript black car, sitting between two bury guards. They all watched as the car glided down the driveway and out onto the open road. By this evening he would be back in Maldonia.

Elsa felt a presence slid up behind her.

"Tiana, how would you like a holiday?" Elsa offered, not bothering to face her chef. She respected privacy too much. "I'm more than willing to give you my jet for a week."

Tiana laughed slightly behind her.

"I'll pay my own way to Maldonia," Tiana stated, turning to retreat to the kitchen. "But thank you for the offer."

And in the space of five minutes, it was just Elsa and Anna again; standing on the doorstep of the house. They were silent for a long while, enjoying the morning air of the countryside. The sun was uninterrupted in a cloudless sky and the green was of the deepest green for miles around them. Simultaneously, everything was still and in motion. There was not a movement between the sisters, but the house was bustling with tidying maids attempting to correct the mess of last night.

Pretty soon the forensics team would arrive to investigate the ballroom for further evidence. Neither of the Nobles wanted to be around for that.

"Hey, Anna," Elsa calmly said, poking her sister back into consciousness. The smile that slipped onto her face at her sister's dozy nature this morning was easy and natural, unpressured now by having to entertain or protect for the time being. "Do you want to go back to your apartment? You look like you could use a nap."

"Hmm?" Anna replied, shifting minimally against the wall. "Yeah, yes please. Do you want to stay at mine while the cops are here?"

"It's alright," Elsa replied, well aware of where she was needed right now. "But how about we go to the cinema tonight? Isn't there a new Marvel movie?"

"_Age of Ultron_?" Anna's ears perked up at the idea. "Yeah! I'd love to. Is it alright if Hans comes as well?"

Elsa froze up at the mention of the man. Out of everyone she had encountered in the last few weeks; including Jones and Facilier, she found it very hard not to dislike Hans the most. Dislike, or fear. It was a wound everyone had forgotten about except her. It was also one she could never mention. Unlike her two adversaries as the Vigilante, Hans seemed to be establishing a more permanent role in her life. This was one problem she couldn't deal with for two reasons. If she ever brought it up, the Westerguard boy might remember and bring her world crashing down. And, seeing as Hans had been the most attentive to Anna during her absence, there was no way Elsa could ruin the relationship without destroying her friendship with her sister as well.

She might as well just get used to Hans' presence.

"Sure," Elsa begrudgingly agreed, averting her eyes from Anna. "I'll go find Kai, he'll drop you off."

* * *

When Anna finally slumped into her apartment, feeling her head throb from dehydration and eyes tired by the adrenaline rush of witnessing a murder attempt, it was unsurprising that she fell straight onto her couch. While sleep was the thing she needed most at that moment in time, it was the one necessity that eluded her to an almost painful extent. For an indeterminable stretch of minutes or hours, Anna simply lay there and listened to the abject stillness of her penthouse. No noise, no company, no excitement. Just peace.

But peace wasn't something she sought nor did she feel she deserved it. Not for now anyway. No. There was another quest entirely to keep her occupied.

Ever since she was little, Anna had always felt subject to forces beyond her control. She was lucky to be born into a wealthy family, but in terms of needs nothing had ever satisfactorily been met. Her parents, who were meant to provide her with emotional support and learning, had been regularly busy; whether with the company or with charity drives or whatever had kept them preoccupied in the mansion. Her sister, the one person who should have understood her torment, was emotionally distant with little explanation for years and was now being kept busy by the same company which gave them their wealth. Even Hans, her (now) boyfriend, was often called away by his own duties and only had limited time in a week. There was no one else really. The most important people in her life were all under the command of businesses, leaving poor Anna neglected for much of the time.

She kept herself busy. Work at _Oaken's _was rewarding, especially as she never accepted a pay cheque which the owner often tried to hand her. In her spare time she would read, or go cycling, or email her cousin just for some semblance of company. Some nights she would go a club, but on more she would drink and watch movies. Not a terribly fulfilling life.

In the hallway, the landline started _trilling _with an incoming call. The noise made Anna cringe, roll over and hold a pillow over her ears until it stopped. When the continuous buzz finally ceased, she released the cushion to listen to the answer phone recording of the caller.

"_Hey Anna," _A familiar voice said through unflattering speakers. "_It's Rapunzel. I just wanted to call and apologise for not making it to the ball. Hope it wasn't a complete disaster. Gothel said it turned into some kind of drugs bust or murder scene… But I hope you're alright. I'm worried about you. How many more crimes are you going to be caught up in? … Anyway, sorry again for not making it. Erm, yeah. I actually have a sort of, maybe plan to visit you soon? If you'll put me up for a week, of course. I suppose you could always stick me with Elsa in that castle of yours! … So, yeah, call me back soon, please. Hopefully I'll hear from you. Oh! And tell me all about this 'Hans'. Speak to you at… some point. Bye."_

There was always Rapunzel. Anna could often rely on her as a guide, emotional if not physical.

And her cousin was right, she was getting caught up in too many crimes. But on every occasion; the Mall, the Tower, last night; the Vigilante wasn't far away. That strange hero, who could manipulate the wind and the cold, who just turned up to save people without being asked or thanked. If it wasn't for her, Anna wouldn't be alive today. The Vigilante was the only positive force to ever make an impact in her life.

And the Vigilante almost seemed to be watching out for her. Anna had seen it last night. The Vigilante had actually searched for her in a crowd and held her gaze for several seconds. She wished she hadn't been too drunk, otherwise she might be able to better remember those eyes. That, or help her stop Facilier. Anna felt she had been next to useless in that scenario.

Well, never again. If there was a Vigilante helping the innocent, Anna wanted in on the entire operation. She wanted to know where the Vigilante would strike, she wanted to know how she could help and she wanted to repay her hero for everything. Her life, her sister's life, the Prince's life.

It would be a difficult path, definitely the hardest thing Anna had ever done, but she would get there. She just needed help. And she thought she knew exactly who to call on to get started.

* * *

As Elsa entered the Research Facility, or the 'Ice Palace' as Olaf had nicknamed it, she hadn't expected to be given a round of applause. The causes of the quietly manic ruckus were none other than her three compatriots, who were sat waiting for her appearance. They all looked tired and in need of a long shower to de-stress, but there was no denying their victory over one Dr Facilier. Even Sven showed his appreciation of her efforts by lovingly head butting her leg and jumping to lick her face.

"Well done!" Olaf exclaimed, pointing to the wall-mounted screens along the opposing wall.

Across them were various news reports of Facilier's arrest; several from the Arendelle News station, one based in New Orleans and a clip shown by Fox News as a claim in the war on drugs. None of them mentioned the Vigilante as an official champion of justice, but Elsa supposed her hobby wasn't something the government wanted repeated more than it already had been.

"So he's away then?" Elsa asked, watching the videos of Facilier awaiting being carried into the precinct by a team of officers including Kristoff.

"He's lucky he's not in Maldonia," Pabbie replied by way of cryptic answer. "Treason and regicide is one of the few crimes still punishable by death there. At least there's more chance of him living here. He'll be in a random prison before the week is out, if he escapes the chair."

"I almost wish he was in Maldonia." Elsa coldly stated. She would never take a life, but that didn't necessarily mean she wanted some people to continue living.

"You are aware this will become an international scandal?" Pabbie reminded. "You may have saved a Prince and secured sponsorship for the company, well done for that, but whatever Facilier was seeking to achieve may have been managed."

"Yeah, what did he want?" Kristoff asked from his seat in the corner. "I've never known a maniac to travel thousands of miles north to kill someone he's never met for no reason? Although, I haven't known many maniacs."

All four of them were stumped by this question. They had all been too busy stopping Facilier to ever ask what his intended result would be. Personally, Elsa had been too focussed on finding out why he had poisoned Anna. Everyone else had merely followed that problem to much wider and unanswered conclusion. It didn't make any sense for a New Orleans drug lord to attack a Maldonian Prince at an Arendellian visit. What was his motive? Elsa could only feel that they'd never know.

"Thank you for coming," Elsa instead said to Kristoff, offering her hand to shake. "You arrived at the right moment."

"I'm glad I could help," He answered, unsurely returning the gesture. "I'm just glad the rest of police weren't far behind me. That'll make things much easier when I have to lie on my report."

"Did you call for back up?" Olaf asked from his computer terminal, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Because we never got the chance. Told Pabbie we should ring nine-one-one, and then suddenly there was a crazy fight in the middle of the room!"

Kristoff was speechless to this admission. Again, something wasn't right about the entire scenario and Elsa was quick to catch on. If neither Kristoff nor Olaf and Pabbie called the cops, there was no conceivable way they could have arrived when they did. Yet police support came. This was just one more question in a chain of mysteries which no one could figure out.

Instead, Pabbie pushed forward with the conversation to a critical matter.

"Elsa, are you going to continue doing what you're doing?" He asked sternly, needing a proper answer. "Will there be more 'crazy fights' in the future?"

This had been a problem Elsa had spent a lot of time considering, and after everything she had been through over the last week there was only answer to this questions.

"Pabbie, do you think you could restart research into a cure for my condition?" Elsa asked, surprising everyone beyond words. "I've been looking into your work at the company, and there are some things which I think might reverse the effects of the virus. Like that regenerative serum you've been developing? That could restore my uninfected DNA, right?"

The old scientist was speechless for a long few minute whilst he thought over the request.

"If I looked into it, and devoted my time to it, then I might be able to find a short term solution," He admitted, eyes downcast. "But the serum is in its early stages of testing. It would be a while before I could create anything strong enough to undo a twenty-year-old mutation."

"Does this mean you won't be crime-fighting anymore?" Olaf asked, audibly upset by the idea.

Elsa's eyes roved across the partially ice-covered walls with an evaluative eye. The subterranean network, combined with the supernatural qualities of her ice, had kept the surfaces white to about a foot higher up the wall than she was tall. With a level blast of winter dragged across the circumference of the hub steadily, the ice-sculpture quality of the room multiplied extensively.

"Would I need an Ice Palace if I wasn't?" She answered.

* * *

With little care for his injuries, the police officers threw Facilier down on the floor of his appropriated office in the abandoned warehouse outside of Arendelle. He had spent the last eighteen hours on an IV drip whilst having his wounds tended to, before being escorted to the county jail for his crimes. However, he had been amazed when the police car had pulled sharply away from their planned route and had instead arrived at his base of operations. Did this mean he would be allowed to escape by that quite frankly terrifying benefactor?

The angry breathing of another person in the room told him otherwise.

"I dare not ask if you know why you're here." The White Knight dangerously stated from his seat at the table. His sword was laid out on the red tablecloth as a reminder of their positions.

Facilier found his grinning in fear as he dragged himself to the opposite seat with his own good arm. When he didn't answer, the White Knight only became angrier.

"You're here because you failed to complete a very simple task!" The Knight bellowed through his voice-changer.

Without warning, he picked up the sword and shattered the crystal ball which had been left there by Facilier the day before. A million shards flew over the table top, landing everywhere except on the lap of the aggressor. It seemed even inanimate objects avoided contact with him.

"I gave you everything you needed!" He continued to rage. "The weapon! The help! The freaking invitation list and where to find the Prince! And you were stopped by a girl in a sparkly suit! I even told you about her!"

Facilier shrank further into his chair, wishing he could trade his soul for a portal to Hell just to escape this confrontation.

"She had her own help," Facilier attempted to reason. "There was that cop, and the girl from New Orleans!"

"All you had to do was press a button! That was it!" The White Knight continued, rising from his seat and kicking over the rotting chair he had been sat on. "It was the easiest job in the world! A frog could do that!"

"J- Just give me another chance!" Facilier begged, hoping to make amends. "Surely there's something else you need? Just a little more time, and I'll repay everything!"

The White Knight suddenly fell very still. With a fluid movement which would make a dancer jealous, he sheathed the sword at his hip along a small number of other gadgets he had collected on his belt. Facilier watched nervously as the Kevlar-armour plated mass marched to stand over him and stare down through those tinted eye-holes of the helmet.

"There is something else I need from you." The Knight simply said.

"Name it!" Facilier replied, leaning away from that unreadable glare.

"I want the formula for your aerosol Voodoo. It proved useful against the Vigilante."

Surprised by the simplicity of the request, Facilier at once dove into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper which he had messily scribbled the manufacturing process for Voodoo on. He placed it into the Knight's outstretched hand and flinched away when those gloved fingers closed like a bear trap.

"Thank you," The Knight said, unfolding the paper and examining the instructions. "And I must apologise for my outburst. I can't deny my own hand in ruining the plan."

"Pardon me?" Facilier said, feeling some of the blame shift away from his shoulders.

"Yes," The Knight went on. "It was a shame, but as soon as the Vigilante threw you through that window I knew enough was enough. Be glad I called the police rather than leave you to Elsa Noble's vengeance."

"You called the police?" Facilier repeated, not believing how traitorous the White Knight had been in the operation.

"Of course," He clarified, pulling out a small canister from his belt. "I prefer to deal with clean-up myself."

And with that, the White Knight gave such a high dose of Voodoo that Facilier had to be carried out of the warehouse by a team of police as the last vestiges of his sanity disappeared.

* * *

**Please Review. (Constructive criticism welcome, don't think I've actually said that until now. Yikes.)**


	14. New Players - Part One

**So! Here we are, another chapter. And, may I point out, that this is coming a whole two days early? I think this may be a record for my writing (although it could be fraught with mistakes). Personally, this storyline is one of my favourites and I hope you'll see why by the end of it. I am in severe danger of just neglecting revision to work on this for the next two weeks. Please don't let me do that, though.**

**As for the weekly responses, I think we've had the most reviews for a single chapter with my last entry. To Batman1809; I felt I rushed the entire 'cure' thing as well. I just wasn't sure how to place it in the chapter and I may, in my fatigue, have forgotten to fully explain it (I was behind time and simply out of it, apologies). However, I did put some very weak hints of Elsa's knowledge of the cure in previous chapters: it was mentioned at the first board meeting and was among the research which impressed Prince Naveen in chapter 11. Elsa's reasoning for the cure will hopefully be made clear in this chapter, and I will make a note of it as something to improve on in future. Many thanks. (Also, the last chapter was set in late June (probably also unclear), so **_**Age of Ultron**_** has already been out for two months to Elsa and Anna).**

**Also, to JJ12 in the quest for a cape, I just don't think it would work on Elsa. Her suit's already bullet proof and in some cases, as seen in the coming chapter, a cape would really be more of a liability to anon-flying superhero. Plus not many superheroes wear capes anyway, I can only think of four off the top of my head. But I will keep your suggestion in mind, and you may find it pops up with another character very soon. **

**Finally, Shadowtiger999 made a point about Elsa's strength, although I think the comparative character was missed out. Without knowing who should be stronger than Elsa I don't really know how to address this, sorry. **

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing, and have a Happy Easter!**

* * *

'Blizzard'. 'Avalanche'. 'The Chill'. These were the latest three examples of media nicknames for the Arendelle Vigilante in the last week. None of them had the ring Elsa was looking for, especially as they had nothing to do with her powers so much as what people associated with them. When the heroic deeds of the masked woman made the news, no one saw past the change in weather she brought with her. All they could see was a column of ice, a foot of snow or a cage of icicles impeding and restraining every villain she encountered. If Elsa was to be truly choosy, which she felt she had a right to be, she wanted something that would remind people the cold and the wind were not errant forces of nature attacking crime in Arendelle. There was a person coming after those who broke the moral laws of the city, and it was that person to whom the forces were subservient.

There was also the fact that one day, should Pabbie's renewed effort prove successful, there may not even be the forces of nature to call on. In the space of a month, the regenerative serum had proved capable of reversing genetic disorders appearing in older mammals to no negative effect. The serum had the added bonus, even, of repairing tissue damage at unprecedented rates. If there would ever be a chance to throw off the icy shackles of her powers, Elsa thought this strange, rare flower's genes held the answer.

Of course, due to her duties to the people of Arendelle, this cure would only be a last resort if it worked. In the discussions following her announcement to her little team, she had made it clear that if substantial evidence was ever found to link the Vigilante with Elsa, she wanted to get rid of the powers. Then the police would lose their credit in that hypothetical investigation and leave her alone. If she couldn't produce ice, they couldn't prove anything on her. It could just be played off as a coincidence that some evidence suggested otherwise.

Thankfully, Kristoff had kept most of the heat away from the Nobles in the investigations following Prince Naveen's visit. A few people had noticed that Anna had been present during both major appearances of the Vigilante, with some even correctly theorising that it _was_ Elsa who inhabited the role. Luckily, Kristoff had pointed out that nearly all of the witness reports placed Elsa among the escaping crowds at the party (partially due to the unethical practice of leading questions and slight editing of computer records), with the rumours and conspiracies dying down after a few days. Elsa hadn't even been needed to make a public statement stating how silly the idea was.

This event had also pushed Pabbie to increase the amount of time he spent in the isolated lab in North Mount Station studying the serum, a sample of which he had 'stolen' from the company. His new daily routine included working the regular nine to five day shift at the Noble Corporation, having an hour for dinner, then retreating to the secret tunnels the study the serum until midnight (as well as give advice during Elsa's missions). She hated that her old friend worked so relentlessly for her, even more so as he disapproved of having a cure entirely. But equally, she needed to know he was doing everything he could and make sure Olaf and Kristoff were aware as well.

That had been part of the reason her request was so public. Deep down, Elsa had the horrible feeling that Pabbie was hiding something important. There was no concrete evidence. There was only the fact he had kept a number of bullet-proof suits, which were stolen military property, in a train station he had almost instantly turned into a secret hideout. Additionally, the mask she wore still perturbed her. By apparent coincidence, the blue matched the colour scheme of her suit and there were at least two similar masks all officially owned by her mother. How these masks came into Pabbie's possession was beyond her.

So this was why she had chosen to ask for the cure in front of her allies. It wasn't she distrusted how genuine Pabbie was for her care. It was just that she wanted insurance that Pabbie was not hiding any more secrets, especially over something so important. By having Kristoff and Olaf know, he would have to mention his progress every now and again.

"_Elsa! Fire on 35__th__ and 12__th__ west!" _Olaf exclaimed in her ear and breaking her reverie.

She balled up the newspaper she had been reading on the rooftop, turning to find the rough direction that particular building was in. It wasn't difficult to spot, as it left a long tower of smoke trailing into the sky as well as a distinctive glow on the horizon. Within a minute Elsa had leapt down the fire escape, started the purpose bought motorbike and sped off in the direction of the blaze.

"Arson?" She asked as she weaved between the cars, skipping stop lights when they were not in her favour and receiving an orchestra of loud horns as she zipped over the junctions.

"_It could be!"_ Olaf replied, proving less than useful as her eyes and ears this time. "_All I know is it's an apartment block and two people are trapped inside."_

Without really thinking about it, Elsa sped up the motorbike and overtook a cab. She was marginally aware that a camera flashed inside the vehicle; obviously a photograph which would make its way to the local paper by the morning. This was one public occurrence she was beginning to get used to, especially now as many of the days' workers were heading home on foot. Although she hadn't checked a clock for at least two hours Elsa estimated the time to be roughly seven pm. Today she had been 'active' since around four, since she had evening plans yet still yearned to do a daily quota of good.

Hopefully she could make it Anna's by eight.

"What's Kristoff doing?" Elsa wondered aloud as she rounded the last corner for the final stretch towards the burning building.

"_I'm on duty, we've got a lead on those twins," _Kristoff chimed in through his own earpiece. Obviously he was limited in how much he could help due to his service to the police, but he often supplied the Vigilante with major and petty crimes to combat. On a few occasions, when he had nights off, he would join her as backup under a balaclava. Sometimes Sven came along as well, although those were normally slow nights. "_They're on 39 and 9__th__, or they were when spotted."_

Elsa slowed slightly as she came within two hundred metres of the building. Already she could feel the heat and taste the ash. Somewhere behind her a chorus of fire trucks blared, however they were faint and delayed due to the inordinate amount of traffic. She was met with a choice; enter the building or turn around and hunt the brothers who were responsible for a series of robberies. The fire department were far more adept at dealing with the flames than she ever would be. Surely she would be of greater use chasing after the elusive brothers. Those twins, who Olaf thought matched the descriptions of two escapees from the south west, had already left a lot of destruction in their wakes. Three bars had been completely ransacked of anything of value, two break-ins had occurred in the previous week and there had been at least one count of murder in Arendelle. Naturally, Elsa was convinced she would be better leaving the fire department to do its duty.

But then there was a scream for help from a high position and Elsa instinctively closed the distance between her and the building.

A group of people had gathered around the entrance, or as close as they could get without choking on the smoke and gasping from the incredibly large bonfire that used to be a public dwelling. Buckets were piled high as some of the men dutifully carried pales of water back and to from another apartment block, with each load being emptied to cut a pitiful amount into the doorway. There was one man jittering on his toes, edging his way towards the entrance then retreating as the flames spat out. He was a cross between determination and unparalleled fear, with a few of his companions trying to hold him back.

"Please!" He cried into the behemoth. "They're in there! They're in there!"

The people parted when Elsa's motorcycle roared, allowing her to approach the building uninterrupted by the chains of buckets. All except the weeping man were surprised by her appearance. He merely continued yelling for release into the flames. Until she stood in front of him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Or hovered her hand over his shirt, since she was concerned she may not be able to withhold her powers.

"Hey," She said, voice tender despite the electronic tones. "Who's in there?"

When he realised who was speaking to him, the man grabbed a hold of her shoulders and looked into her eyes with deadly seriousness.

"My son! My wife!" He desperately shouted. "Save them, please! Please, he's only eighteen months! They can't get out, the fire escape's coming away from the wall!"

"Which apartment?" The Vigilante asked restrainedly, doing her best to detach herself from the her own memories of a child in danger. It would not to think of a fourteen-year-old mistake now.

"5B!"

She turned, counting the storeys of the toasting building. It just had to be the top one. A disappointed part of her realised she was going to be late to dinner.

Without another word, Elsa stepped straight up to the door. Extending her arm, she reached into the fiery depths of the lobby and thought of the coldest thoughts she could imagine. Black carbon began to coat her fingers while the ever present forces of the blizzard charged through her veins. Putting out the blaze would be easy enough. It was a fairly simple equation everyone learnt at some point in their life; fire required oxygen, fuel and heat to burn. Luckily she had control over one of those.

Except that when she willed the heat out of the space in front of her there was only a quiet hissing of steam. Nothing more. The fire raged on, uninterrupted.

"What the hell was that?" A nearby sceptic voiced, severely underwhelmed.

"You got me," Elsa replied, for once frightened by the absence of her powers. She turned away from the prying eyes. "Any ideas?"

"_Elsa_," The aged voice of Pabbie said. "_The sensors in your suit show the temperatures in that building are higher than you can compensate for."_

"So no ice?"

"_No ice. And I highly recommend you do not go into that building."_

Elsa looked at the fire, then back at the expectant fearful man who was hoping against hope she would manage to save his family. A team of firemen rushed ahead of the truck, which was still caught in immovable traffic, to close off the area and get the civilians away. Without their equipment, the firemen would never be able to reach the family in time.

Before anyone could stop her, she tore the sleeve off the sceptical man's shirt as he walked away. He rounded on her to yell, but she simply pushed him back and bathed the fabric in a bucket of water for a few seconds. A fireman was about to reach for her as she ran into the lobby. Flames spread behind her and under her feet with every step further into the room, drowning out the calls of the fire department while she searched for a stairwell.

Stretching the ripped and soaking sleeve over the prongs of her mask, Elsa drew a few choked breathes as she pushed her way out of the heat and into the concrete column which led up the building. While the stone and cement were unable to burn for the moment, basement storerooms had unfortunately proved highly flammable as the amount of smoke funnelling up the structure was almost unreal. It was very hard to make anything out beyond a few feet. Luckily there wasn't much by way of obstacles on the ascent.

"_Which part of 'do not go in' was so hard to understand?" _Pabbie asked, exasperated.

"The undertone of deserting someone in need," Elsa snappily replied, racing up a flight whilst trying to regulate her breathing. She was half way up the building when she next spoke. "I don't suppose this costume's fire proof, is it?"

"_If it can keep extreme cold inside it stands to reason it will insulate extreme heat as well," _Pabbie theorised. "_We never got around to testing how it handled fire. The Westerguards did that._"

Whether the blue material would keep burns at bay or not was soon forgotten, as Elsa reached floor five and returned to the path of orange tongues which tried to envelope her. The corridor she found herself in had previously been decorated by wooden tables and wallpaper, although these were currently being reduced to blackened ash whilst the energy they stored blasted the space relentlessly. Beyond the _crackling _of beams in the ceiling Elsa could hear the most horrific cries she had ever been in earshot of. They were not the cries of pain, nor were they the weeps of woe. They were the uncontrolled sobs of a person who had given up all hope and just waited for their fate.

This was not a noise Elsa would listen to for any longer than she absolutely had to. Hesitating no longer, she charged through the flaming hallway towards the weakened door bearing the symbols '5B'. It was no difficult feat to burst through the wood, at once being met with a young mother who was huddled with her small child as far from the fire a she could get. Her hiccupping, choking wails were silenced by the surprise entry of the Vigilante, although she looked no more hopeful by her new company. The child, on the other hand, seemed to lose all distress he had been experiencing on sight of the local heroine.

"Where's the fire escape?" She shouted over the _creaking _of the room.

With a shaky finger, the mother pointed towards a window which had been blocked by a heavy beam. Taking the family back down the stairwell was still a feasible option, but the smoke billowing through the oversized chimney was something she did not want to take a toddler through. That plan would only be a last resort.

So, reserving all her own fears on the situation she had willingly thrown herself into, Elsa treaded lightly over to the beam-barred window. While the wood was heavy, it's thickness had prevented the fire from truly igniting it and it was shorter than it looked on first inspection. Planting her feet into the smouldering carpet, bending at the knees, Elsa managed to shift the wooden shaft the barest millimetre off the ground and slowly swivel it around until the glimmers of dusk sparkled through the glassless windows. She groaned at the strain the manoeuvre placed on her joints, but thankfully there were no snapped muscles as she unceremoniously dropped the beam onto the floor beside her.

She pretended not to notice how the ground sagged under the weight.

Beyond the window Elsa could see the fire escape and, like the father had warned, it had fallen away from the top floor by about three feet. While this would be easy to cross for the average adult, it became a much more difficult path when the child was factored in. It was also unknown how much weight the structure could take without falling further away. The lower platforms remained firmly fixed to the outside wall, reducing how much of a setback this might have been. There was currently only one way this would work.

Elsa tiptoed into the kitchen of the apartment for the barest second it took her to find undamaged tea towels. The heat radiating off the building would no doubt make the metal escape route scorching to the touch, but not hot enough to cause anything else to catch alight. Ergo, when she returned to the living space, beckoning over the mother in the process, Elsa wasted zero time in rapping the towels around her hands. The child clung to his mother the entire time, unwilling to let the only comfort he had slip away in this very convincing reproduction of hell.

Next, Elsa leaned out of the window. Out here the air was still warm, but cool enough for her to cover her own hand in a layer of ice like a skin-tight glove. Keeping herself anchored inside the apartment, she reached over and snatched a hold on the railing on the fire escape. Using every ounce of strength, Elsa pulled the escape route against the building before moving aside so there was just enough space for the mother to pass her.

"Go down one level," She instructed through the damp cloth. "When you think you're secure, tell me. Then I'll pass him down."

The child was highly unwilling to let go of his mother's arm, and only did so at the gentle urging of both her and the Vigilante. This did not stop him immediately crying as the mother slid out of the apartment to fresher air. Unfortunately, she stopped to look back at the weeping toddler when they could not afford to spend any more time up there than necessary.

"Keep going!" Elsa bellowed, staring motivational daggers at the woman. She could already feel the heat penetrating what little ice she could maintain on her hand. "Just go!"

Dutifully, the mother stepped down the ladder unsteadily, using the cloths to shield her hands. When she reached the next platform down she looked up expectantly. As promised, Elsa reached out behind her to call the child forwards, so that she might guide down to the arms of his mother and they could escape. All that would be left then would be for Elsa herself to get out of the burning wreck. Of course, if she only had to look out for herself it would be all the easier.

However, Elsa was so surprised that the child took her extended hand, due to misreading the gesture, that she lost all concentration on what she was doing. A mere second after she felt that tentative touch the ice on her other hand melted completely and her bare skin touched the red hot railing. Naturally, she yelped in pain; automatically releasing her grip on the agonizing stimulus. Due to this error, she would be unable to grab hold of it again. The metal structure gave an almighty high pitched whine as it bent further into the alleyway between this building and its neighbour. The mother managed to hold on, remaining on the second platform down with no injury, but she was out of reach of Elsa and her child.

Quickly observing that the mother could get down regardless of the angle of the ladder, Elsa urged her on.

"Go all the way down! I'll find another way out!" She screamed, before turning back inside. There was already a deep red mark forming across the palm of her hand, with rippling damage etched along her fingers. This would be more difficult than intended.

Next to her, the child realised that hope had, for the moment, fled the area as he fell into a renewed round of tears. Even worse, he started choking on the smoke which was now building up through the room. He had to get out in the next few minutes, and there was only one possible way out now.

"Hey," Elsa softly said, kneeling down beside the whimpering boy and clicking off her voice changer so she could use her normal voice. Despite everything in her telling her not to, she pulled the wet sleeve off her mask and handed it to the child. "Listen, I know you're scared, because I'm scared. I know you want your parents. So please, be brave for three minutes. Hold that rag against your mouth and you nose for three minutes, be brave, and I'll get you out. It'll be fun. Okay?"

Elsa had never studied developmental psychology, so she had no idea whether the child understood her or not. He could not even know his own name for all she knew. But he calmed considerably at her tender words and held onto her good hand tighter after she showed him how to breathe in the smoky nightmare. When she led him towards the apartment door, he quietly followed and allowed himself to be picked up when she lifted him away from the burning carpet of the corridor.

As it turned out, the costume _did _insulate Elsa from the majority of the inferno under her boots. If she had worn a full body suit of the experimental material, the sensation of passing through fire would have been no different to a summer's afternoon in the countryside. Unfortunately, the suit did nothing to help her filter the carbon and smoke from the air, so Elsa found herself taking shallow, infrequent breaths as she approached the stairwell.

"Okay, good boy," She commended once they were at the top of the stairs. "I promised you fun, didn't I? Well, what kind of brave boy doesn't like a slide?"

Thankfully, it was cold enough on the concrete floor for a thin, wet layer of ice to form as she willed the forces through her burnt hand. Ever so slowly, the glimmering sheen spread down the stairs (and some walls at the corners) to form a very sharp, bumpy ride. There was no way the child could get down four flights of stairs without significant injury, even if there was some cushioning. Knowing she would come out of this with terrible bruises, Elsa sat down and placed the child on her lap.

"Now remember; say 'wheee'!" Elsa playfully instructed as she pushed herself down the rough slide.

The ride was juddery, and made her lower back numb very quickly as the suit absorbed as much of each successive impact as it could. Evidently, from the child's reluctant laughter, he was enjoying the descent as if it were all a game. But every little flaw in the smoothness of the ice was felt by Elsa. At the corners, she had to quickly reach out and divert them around a ninety degree point, causing her wounded hand to slap into the abrasive brick wall but speeding their descent. Soon enough, they were on the last flight of the stairs.

They reached the bottom just as a team of firemen crashed through from the lobby. The team took one look at them, before they all instinctively reached to help the Vigilante and the child reach the freedom of fresh air.

* * *

An hour later, Elsa rapped her knuckles against Anna's door. It was hardly possible to tell she had been in a life-threatening only a short amount of time before. Her hair was tied up in that intricate trademark bun perfectly, with barely a single hair out of place. The more casual attire of denim and a billowy silk shirt did not betray the fact they had been bundled in a small motorcycle compartment since lunch. Of course, the ever-present gloves tightly enwrapped her fingers as the only concession to her regular style. However, the way she left her right hand hanging limp gave some indication of the hidden battle wound.

When she had finally got out of that building under the helpful escort of the firemen, the parents had insisted on thanking her ceaselessly for her efforts in saving their child. Whilst she appreciated their gratefulness for her actions, Elsa felt it wasn't necessary. Being the Vigilante was just part of her job, however unofficially. There was also the personal annoyance in that they kept her from reaching Anna's apartment on time, and meant she could not go to Pabbie for medical attention if she wanted to have an alibi for this evening's activities. The excuse of meetings could only last so long, after all.

So her skin prickled and burnt with every shift of the fabric covering her hand. It hurt to even activate her powers as the skin was too badly damaged for the ice to flow through properly. This was the first time in her life that Elsa had felt this kind of burning. Temperature didn't usually get to her, as she could either use the ice in her veins to keep her body cool or it was cold anyway. And the cold had really never bothered her at all. But this was a constant irritation which just wouldn't go away. Luckily her mutation prevented the most harmful dangers of untreated burns from effecting her, specifically infection or deep damage. The wound was just a very irritating, uncomfortable, agonizing surface injury.

After several seconds, during which the discomfort in her hand stabbed daggers into her nerves, Anna finally opened the door. Her sister was dressed in more conservative clothing than she normally wore; skinny jeans where she might wear Daisy Dukes in the summer heat and a size-too-big blouse over a _Green Arrow_ t-shirt. As always, Anna's hair was braided in twin pigtails with that distinctive white mallen streak occupying an entire strand. Elsa had always thought that the single patch of white in Anna's hair was an indication of the virus having a tiny effect, but there was no evidence to back up this theory. It was most likely a genetic coincidence.

"Hey! You're here, finally!" Anna exclaimed excitedly, grabbing hold of Elsa's gloved hand and pulling her through the doorway. "We were wondering when you'd get here. You're normally on time."

Elsa did her best not to whimper in pain, since the hand Anna had chosen to grab happened to be the injured one. A flash of pain accompanied the pressure on the tender skin, causing her to grit her teeth and pretend she didn't have a right hand for the seconds it was held. There was an unfortunately audible sigh of relief when Anna let go, causing the younger woman to look briefly hurt. From the outside, it seemed as if Elsa detested physical contact with her own sibling, although this was obviously not the case.

"Yeah, sorry, I was snowed under a mountain of paperwork," Elsa partially lied. There _was _a mountain of paperwork at her house, but it was yet to be sorted through. "I lost track of time. Goddard's business ideas are truly 'gripping'."

The table was already set for three, with drinks set out. Elsa couldn't help but spot that there was only one glass of wine waiting. Given that the eldest Noble was strictly teetotal, there were only two other people it could be left for. Out of these two, it was a coin toss to whom it was. Dare she hope Anna was laying off alcohol now? Her conduct at Prince Naveen's ball had been brought up for a fortnight afterwards as a source of embarrassment for both the sisters.

"And I thought you were going to bail on us," Hans jokingly said as he wandered out of the kitchen, still wearing his oven mitt. "Nice to see you, Elsa."

"Hans." Elsa said woodenly, but politely. She was only doing this for Anna's sake. To be honest, she still didn't like the idea of her younger sister having a boyfriend. Especially if that boyfriend was _Hans_.

The Westerguard boy had ridiculously left the top buttons of his silk dress shirt undone to reveal a toned chest. Elsa felt sickened by the sight. She could except maybe two buttons left open for staying cool, but more than that just screamed 'show off'. However, Elsa had never been able to identify the attractive features of men. There were far more important things to look at in the world than a guy's muscles. Besides, his less than roomy trousers made him look even more repulsive anyway. What did Anna see in him?

"Dinner's warming in the oven," Hans reported, pulling Anna to his side as if to taunt Elsa. "I can serve it whenever. Well, probably best in the next hour or so. Otherwise it might dry out."

"We can eat now, if that's alright?" Anna asked, more for Elsa's benefit.

"Yeah, yes. Of course," Elsa replied, tenderly rubbing her right glove and the throbbing flesh which smarted underneath. She was fairly certain that if she didn't apply something cool to the wound soon she'd start crying from the pain. "Is it alright if I just wash my hands quickly?"

Both Anna and Hans stopped in surprise at the request, each glancing towards the perpetually worn gloves.

"Okay," Anna answered unsurely. "But why? I mean- you can! By all means! But, you always wear gloves? Why do you need to wash your hands?"

"Just… Hygiene?" Elsa tried to pass off the explanation naturally. The itching was beginning to become overwhelming, like her skin was literally peeling off. It probably was. "I like to feel clean."

"Forgive me for asking," Hans interrupted just as Elsa was about to turn away. "But; why do you _always _wear them?"

In fourteen years, Elsa had never once been asked that question. No one had been around when she was a child to question the eccentric articles of clothing, and her flatmates in Norway had merely accepted it as a winter precaution. They had never really seen her in the summer to notice the extended use. Therefore, she had no prepared answer to Hans' inquiry. Thankfully Anna seemed to have come to a plausible conclusion by herself.

"Hans," She reprimanded, whispering into her boyfriend's ear. "She's scared of germs. Or something about dirt?"

He nodded in understanding, but still gave Elsa an uncertain glance as she tried to adjust the glove away from her skin. When no one said anything else, she took this as her cue to escape the surprisingly tense moment and escape to the bathroom.

Once she was safely hidden behind the closed door, Elsa peeled off the glove. It phenomenally hurt to pull the fabric over the sensitive skin, to the point she was beginning to suspect the wound had any been aggravated by rubbing against the cloth. When she finally saw the damage she regretted wearing the articles in the first place. Across her fingers were three parallel welts of painful red and bone-white skin as blisters had formed (or even popped already) on the spots where she had touched the blazing railing. Each slight movement was agony. On her palm, a wider fourth line had seared itself; at the centre of which was a large white crater where the skin had flaked away. By far and away is the ugliest thing Elsa had ever seen, of course the visual severity may have been exaggerated by the fact she could the still air stinging it endlessly.

Now that Elsa was by herself, she allowed herself to hiss out a fraction of the tense pain she had been holding in since escaping the building. With her free hand, she filled the basin with cold water which she brought down to the rough temperature of an arctic sea with a flick of an undamaged little finger. The numbing relief when she dipped her hand into the freezing sink was audible, as Elsa released a heaving sigh when the itching, burning sensation died down. Under the water the loose skin floated away from her hand; tethered only by the healthy flesh which tightened in the cool water. It still hurt to move her fingers even marginally regardless of how little feeling there was left.

Having never suffered a burn before, mostly due to the fact heat didn't tend to last long around her, Elsa was unsure how she should deal with injury. Pulling off the other glove with her teeth, she began to gently tug off the dead skin off so that a healthy replacement might grow underneath. Unfortunately, the tearing sent pinpricking shots up her nerves and made Elsa jump as the muscle memory of the heat set in momentarily. Soon enough, there were small flakes of white accumulating on the surface of the water. Sadly, when she tried to take her hand out of the chilled sanctity of the sink, the burning and stinging and itching returned full force, even worse on the fringes of the popped blisters; which forced her to stop herself from removing the appendage.

It was at this point that Elsa heard an excited clattering of sneakers on hardwood as Anna was inevitably heading her way. Indeed, she barely had time to endure the agony of drying and hiding her injured hand before her sister burst through the unlocked door with her phone in hand.

"Hey, Elsa!" Anna exclaimed, eyes fixed firmly on her screen. "Apparently the Vigilante's been at a fire downtown! That's the third sighting this week!"

"That's great." Elsa agreed, her face a mixture of discomfort from Anna's interest in her alter ego and the sharp cut of the air on the sensitive blisters.

From the sound of torment in Elsa's voice, Anna looked up from her phone and almost immediately caught sight of the obvious impairment. When Elsa glanced at her hand she spotted that it was bright red, with the white spots standing out to appear all the more unhealthy. To say Anna was horrified by what she saw was an understatement.

"Oh my God, Elsa," Anna breathed, placing her phone down on the sink to tenderly reach for her sister's damaged hand. "How the hell did you do that?"

Elsa complied with Anna's examination, ignoring the pain when she realised that this was the first time in over a decade that she had physically touched her sister; hand to hand. It was the strangest sensation. This was person who Elsa used to pull through mountains of snow when their baby legs failed them, and a person who Elsa had taught to ice skate by holding onto the same hands which now lightly pressed against the burn. For a wonderful second, Elsa could pretend that the life threatening accident had never happened. That the sisters could touch like this whenever they wanted, instead of one hiding behind layers of silk and cotton for fear of endangering a life. Then Elsa remembered the accident itself and she pulled her hand away under the pretence of pain.

"I, er- I burnt it on my hair straighteners before I left," Elsa lied, guarding the wound against herself.

Anna stared at her, puzzled, for a few moments.

"But your hair's in a bun?" She half-asked, half-pointed out. "Why would you straighten your hair if you just tied it up? Surely you'd just brush it straight for that."

Elsa fumbled for words for a few moments. It was a good point; she never straightened her hair. In fact, her hair never went curly due to the low humidity which existed around her constantly. Her hair dried straight and any imperfections were hidden by the braid-bun combination. Obviously outright lies were not her strong point.

"Well, no, I wouldn't," Elsa attempted to explain, pausing to find a convincing explanation which would still work with the hair straighteners. "I _was_ going to have my hair down tonight, but when this happened I just went with the bn."

Her sister still didn't seem entirely convinced, taking a second closer inspection of the angry red lines over Elsa's fingers.

"But how did you get it across hand like _that_? It looks like you touched a towel rack at a hundred degrees!" Anna went on, stopping to glance at her still active phone screen.

Looking over, Elsa was terrified to see the picture which headed the internet article. It was evidently a paparazzi shot, taken from a strange angle several floors below the Vigilante. The image depicted the half collapsed fire escape, shrouded in billowing smoke, with Elsa pulling the metal platform back by hand. A second photo underneath was an action shot of the fire escape tumbling back down with the mother holding onto the structure with towels, whilst in the background the Vigilante could be seen recoiling in pain; her right hand splayed in the air.

For a horrible moment, Elsa was scared Anna might realise that her wound matched the Vigilante's perfectly. She was now cursing herself for having to hide the injury instead of going to see Pabbie straightaway. This was more than enough evidence to link the two public figures for the average citizen, surely Anna would notice.

But then Anna reached for her phone and locked it, without looking too deeply into the blurry photo. Elsa felt her confidence return to reply.

"Look, Anna, I've had long day and I was in a rush to get here. I'm sorry." Elsa finished, trying to close the conversation as naturally as possible. It still sounded fake to her ears.

To her credit, Anna let the subject of _how_ she got the wound rest. Instead, she gently reached out for Elsa's hand and tugged her out of the bathroom encouragingly. Any realisation on who the Vigilante was seemed like a far off danger now, though one Elsa knew could be endangered if the younger girl ever thought about the pose of the 'Blizzard' (still a stupid name) in the articles and the horrifying burn marks etched into her hand.

"Come on, you're going to need to dress that," Anna explained, leading Elsa back to the kitchen. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The guilt Elsa continually carried ebbed on her nerves as if it were being controlled by an erratic moon. To answer Anna's question was fairly simple, but she said the words quietly all the same: "Because you shouldn't worry about me."

It was a very simple and very strong belief that Elsa had held for most of her life. Ever since the accident, the older sister had felt indebted to Anna for a crime she thought she could never pay off. Over the years, the extraneous factors of their lives had been assimilated into this idea to become a comprehensive model of what Elsa had to do. She was the oldest, the heiress to the family company; which enabled her to support Anna. She was dangerous in a wild state of mind, so Elsa had practiced discipline and reined in her feelings under the tutelage of Li Shang. She was the closest family member Anna had, and so she felt all the responsibilities and concerns that a parent might have for a child. And ultimately, due to her past wrong which Anna did not remember, she felt that she owed her sister the entire world. Conversely, Elsa wanted her little sister to live without fear or harm; which meant Anna should never have to burden herself with Elsa's needs.

However, Anna's softening reaction to this idea proved she believed anything but Elsa's distorted world view. She sat her elder sister down at the island counter of the kitchen before reaching into a high cupboard to retrieve a first aid box from above the fridge. Hans only watched from across the kitchen, having turned pale at the sight of the jagged hole in Elsa's skin.

"How on Earth did you do that?" The Westerguard boy asked, looking as if he might faint from the appearance of the wound alone.

"Hair straightening accident," Anna replied, matter-of-factly. She placed the box down on the counter and retrieved a length of bandages, some antiseptic cream and a jar of what seemed to be honey. "This may sting a bit."

On contact with the cool white cream, Elsa's jarring pain began again quite abruptly. Whilst the dollop of antiseptic was tenderly rubbed into the wound she had to clench her teeth from making any humiliatingly weak noises in front of Hans, who busied himself with serving the lasagne onto a set of preheated plates. Anna, thankfully, tried to distract her from the considerable stinging by continuing conversation easily.

"So, are you coming to the station tomorrow?" She asked, tentatively smoothing more of the cream into the sore edges of the burn.

Elsa managed to forget the pain for a moment as she did her best to recall the importance of the next day. _Something_ had been mentioned about this upcoming weekend, although she found it difficult to figure out _what _that was. Definitely a plan Anna had waited not-so-patiently for. From this alone it was embarrassing as her mind drew a blank. Criminals and house fires had proven too major a distraction to keep her mental diary intact.

"_Rapunzel_." Anna helpfully reminded as she finished wiping the cream into Elsa's hand and set about pouring a small splodge of what turned out to be manuka honey onto the burn. The stinging which had been triggered by the antiseptic ended as the thick syrup cut off the damaged flesh from the air.

"Rapunzel's arriving tomorrow," Elsa repeated, having shamefully forgotten her cousin. This would be the first time in almost five years they had seen each other, having last met the Christmas before Elsa left for Oslo. "I don't have anything planned, so yes; I'll come along. I hope that nanny of hers' isn't coming as well."

Hans spat out some of his wine when he heard the reference, saying; "She still has a _nanny_? I thought she was nearly eighteen?"

"Well, her parents aren't around often," Anna explained, starting to weave some of the bandage around and in between Elsa's fingers before wrapping the gauze around her palm. This would make it very difficult to wear gloves. "So I suppose Gothel's the next best thing to a parent. Although she is kind of intense. She barely ever let's 'Punz out of the house. But I don't think Gothel's coming this time."

"That's a surprise," Elsa commented, admiring Anna's medical handiwork. She couldn't move her fingers individually, but the honey provided a nice protective layer between the sensitive skin and the fabric so that each movement did not hurt as much as it could. "Where did you learn to do this?"

Anna started packing up the supplies, brushing any loose threads onto the floor.

"I fall over, like, _a lot_," She explained. "Pabbie thought it was easier to teach me how to deal with scrapes and cuts and bruises myself rather than going to see him every other week. Actually, you might want to go see Pabbie. Maybe he'll have something to fix you up."

Elsa briefly remembered the experimental regenerative serum hiding in North Mount Station. In the descriptions Pabbie had given during his presentation to the Board at the Noble Corporation he had mentioned how some rainforest tribes used the oil of the flower the serum was extracted from to speed up the healing process of largely superficial wounds. She decided it was worth asking when she next saw him. For now, the burn didn't bother her as much, so it seemed safe for her to stay for dinner with Anna and pick up Rapunzel in the morning.

"Bon appetite." Hans said, as he presented the lasagne and carried the plates to the table.

Elsa's stomach growled.

* * *

The major landmarks of central Arendelle glimmered in the middle distance, beckoning to her as a great adventure. She had been to the city four times in her life, but never by herself. As a grand break from her previous dependant existence, Rapunzel Engel felt the thrill of the knowable unknown pulling her closer and closer. After twelve hours on this leg of the journey in the crowded carriage the sight of the Noble and Westerguard Towers was a welcome change to the unchanging Coronan valley she lived in. It had been a long night travelling, with little sleep for the seventeen-year-old, but it was worth to finally reach the city.

Rapunzel hugged her rucksack closer to her as the train crossed over a bridge, bringing her into the maze of blocks and streets which apparently comprised the nicer part of the city to live in. Beyond the towers she could see the grey expanse of the Mountains, appearing dark and foreboding. Gothel had never failed to inform her at every mention of the rundown sections of Arendelle that the place was filled with 'ruffians' and thugs who wouldn't waste time in trying to mug her. She decided for now that she would stay in the more affluent districts. Nothing too dangerous, too fast.

"_Attention passengers, we will be arriving at Arendelle Station shortly. Thank you." _The garbled speaker voice said, followed by the distinct slowing of the train.

Taking this chance to check herself, Rapunzel straightened the bright pink waistcoat she had slung over her lighter long sleeved shirt. Thankfully, after a night-time journey in the same clothes no pit stains or creases had appeared, ensuring she was still presentable. A quick glance in her phone's reflection revealed that she had managed to get just enough sleep so as to not appear tired, and her short brunette hair had remained more or less tidy thanks to periodic brushing during the long monotonous hours. Sometimes she thought about growing her hair out more, but then she decided it would be too much of a hassle.

After slipping her ballet flats back onto her bare feet, she sat waiting for the journey to end so that another may begin. By this point Rapunzel had become quite restless, having barely left her seat since her evening departure from Corona. Without really thinking about it, she started bouncing her leg up and down expectantly, watching the buildings pass by at a snail's pace. Her fingers started moving methodically on the handle of her bag, as if she were holding knitting needles. Ever so slowly, she hunched over on herself, ready to leap out of her seat and onto the platform at a moment's notice.

"Alright there, shorty?" A voice said from opposite her.

He was a tall man in his mid-twenties who had shared the table seat with her for the duration of the journey, ever since leaving Corona. Rapunzel might have believed it if someone told her this man was handsome, although she wouldn't be able to voice her own opinion due to her limited experience with guys. She only really saw what constituted as a 'handsome' man on television; mostly from _Sherlock _or _Supernatural_, as well as the tons of superhero movies Anna had bought her for Christmas. Nevertheless, it went undoubted that many women didn't miss his strong jaw or soft brow, and he looked as if he was of a desirable body shape although the baggy hoodie made it difficult to guess. He could have had a beer gut for all she knew. His hair was of a similar shade to hers, and was stuck up in places from the short, uncomfortable bouts of sleep he had managed during the journey. On his chin a small goatee was growing; which Rapunzel guessed was intentional given the rest of his face was clean shaven. With a bit of grooming and a shave, yes, Rapunzel might have found him attractive.

"Um- Yeah," Rapunzel replied after a pause, surprised he had spoken. Up to now, they had merely been silent companions. In fact, the last time he had spoken was when he asked if the seat opposite her was free. Since then he just slept, watched the world fly past outside the window or read from an aged book. "Little nervous, actually."

"Ah," He responded, sounding not particularly interested by how she was feeling. "First time away from home?"

"By myself," Rapunzel corrected, before she tensed at the thought of an angry Gothel. "I hope my nanny won't be too mad."

The stranger raised a questioning eyebrow, smirking slightly in amusement.

"Hold on, you travelled half way across the country, by yourself, without telling your nanny? Did you tell anyone?" He asked, laughter evident in his voice. "Won't that cause a scandal if this nanny thinks you're missing?"

"I left a note!" Rapunzel defended, folding her arms defiantly.

"And what did it say?"

Rapunzel paused before answering, in a very reluctant voice; "'Please feed Pascal, I'll be back in a week'."

"God, are you going to be in trouble," The man said, finding her response hilarious. "Worrying that poor woman. She'll be freaking out, imagine what your parents might do, Rapunzel."

She froze when he said her name. For a moment, all the worries about kidnappers and murder Gothel had forced on her since the news about Anna's experiences came out ceased her furiously. The way this man so casually used her name made her feel threatened and ready to escape. But he saw how that flippant response had frightened her and made sure to explain himself.

"Your name's written on your backpack." He said, pointing to the slightly smudged handwriting that was indeed marked into the outside of Rapunzel's bag.

"I left a note for my parents too," Rapunzel went on, choosing to swallow her momentary fear. She reached out for the book, titled _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_ and opened to the inside cover. "So there won't be that much trouble, _Eugene_."

Eugene Fitzherbert scoffed, amused again by Rapunzel's handling of the situation.

"And what does this note say?" He asked. "'Change the bins'? 'Eat your five-a-day'?"

"No!" Rapunzel exasperatedly denied, thankful as the platform finally appeared in parallel to the train. Her phone buzzed as a message from her cousin was received. The Nobles were waiting for her, ready. "It says I've gone to stay with some family."

"Alright then." Eugene said simply, happy to leave the conversation there as he bunched the handles of his duffle bag around his fingers and prepared to exit the train.

"What brings you to Arendelle?" She asked, choosing to find anything out about the stranger who had coaxed so much out of her. Unfortunately witticisms were not her strong point. "Here for a… rubbish… beard convention?"

He glanced at her, unamused now and deadly serious. Leaning over to gaze out of the window at the sunny city one last time, he answered quite simply; "I'm catching up with some old friends."

With that, the train stopped with a jolt. As if a second longer on-board was intolerable, Eugene barged down the aisle towards the doors and was on the platform before Rapunzel was able to slide out of her seat. By now a queue had formed as tired commuters pulled down luggage from overhead compartments. It was a slow and sluggish wait to get out into the open air. No sooner had her feet touched the ground, however, was Rapunzel scooped into a tight hug by a sneaky redhead whom she was glad to see.

"'Punzie!" Anna cried, actually carrying her shorter cousin quite a distance across the platform.

"Anna! Put me down!" Rapunzel yelled joyfully, play fighting in an attempt to be put back on the ground. "Come on!"

After a few minutes of disrupting the wave of people wandering away from the train Anna finally released her cousin, but was barely able to keep still in her excitement. However, Rapunzel's attention was quickly caught by the calm, almost regal figure of Elsa. The pair didn't exactly know how to address each other, with neither trying to initiate a hug. Instead, they smiled sheepishly, having never found much to talk about before, and offered small 'hello's.

"How was you train ride?" Elsa asked, staying steady whilst Anna practically danced around them. Rapunzel noticed that she was rubbing one heavily bandaged hand with another gloved one in a peculiar fashion statement.

But then she saw another familiar form in the background, standing just beside the entrance to the subway terminals. Surprisingly, Eugene Fitzherbert had paused in his abrupt escape to look back at the little group inquisitively. Although, he didn't look at Anna or Rapunzel so much as focus on Elsa's presence amongst the crowds. He seemed to be studying her, almost as if her recognised her, before nodding to himself knowingly and disappearing into the subway.

"Long," Rapunzel decided on relying, realising that a lengthy pause had fallen over the reunited family. "Is there anywhere you know that does a good breakfast?"

* * *

**Ta-da! Hero crossover!**

**Please Review, constructive criticism welcome. **


	15. New Players - Part Two

**Okay, so slightly later than I'd hoped. Personally; I blame revision. It's been killing my imagination and consuming far too much of my time. If only Fanfiction paid… **

**Anyway, I'm glad everyone (I think, the reviews were good) enjoyed the appearance of Rapunzel and Eugene. I've been wanting to do that since I started this story. Hopefully you'll all like Flynn Rider's methods. JJ12 is correct in pointing out that Flynn will be more the non-powered hero, since I couldn't viably explain why he would have powers and he didn't have any in the canon anyway. And I assure you (particularly Victory Goddess) that Merida **_**will**_** make an appearance as well, but not for a while yet. **

**As for Shadowtiger999's comment on Anna being stronger than Elsa; she may be, although so far there hasn't been a physical confrontation between the sister's and Elsa has a stricter exercise regimen in this universe. I will be sure to keep this in mind though for later in the story. Thank you for clarifying. **

**And to Batman1809; for the moment, I don't think Anna would notice any links between the Vigilante and Elsa (at least not consciously). This is someone who has a very set idea as to who her sister is and may be a tad ignorant to some of the blaring details due to this. Of course, that's not to say she's completely unaware of the strange behaviour.**

**On a side note, and at the prompting of JJ12, I'm just going to give my top superheroes. Feel free to ignore this and skip to the story. I'm quite fond of Green Lantern, Thor and (despite what people say) Aquaman. I admire his perseverance despite the ridicule. There's also V, but I'm not sure if he counts as a superhero. **

**Enough of my wittering, and on with the story!**

* * *

Rapunzel's entire first day in Arendelle passed by completely in the company of her cousins. Much of it was spent in Anna's apartment as the Coronan got comfortable and found out all she could about the places to visit. Among these were a new club called _Sauna _on the far side of the Mountains which the younger Noble spoke quite highly of, to the great disapproval of Elsa; who was the only one among them who could legally enter the establishment. There was also a restaurant not too far from the Noble Tower named _No.52_ which was apparently very exclusive, but a well-to-do family would have no hassle entering. However, they eventually just went to the cinema and ate at a _Pizza Hut_ after watching Anna's long awaited _Superman_ sequel. Afterwards, Anna and Rapunzel headed back to her penthouse whilst Elsa departed on the pretence of catching up with paperwork at home.

Instead, Elsa stumbled into North Mount Station at close to midnight. In all honesty she couldn't be bothered making the journey back to the Noble Estate, which was a half-hour trip (not including Kai coming to get her in the first place) so had called Pabbie and Olaf to set up a camp bed in her Ice Palace. In the refurbishment of the station, in an attempt to make it more like a multipurpose facility, Elsa had seen it fit to add some home comforts. Across three platforms, there were now basic ready meals in case an all-nighter was ever required, along with a set of beds and an improved bathroom facility. Elsa had also bought more gym equipment and set up a makeshift office so that she could still follow her daily routines whilst remaining 'on-call'. It was a slightly uncomfortable existence, but a necessary one for the time being.

"Nice of you to join us," Pabbie said as she sat down next to Olaf's desk. The shorter man had long since gone home, having only done minor research on his night off. Kristoff had arrived for his nightly update on important cases where the Vigilante may be of service. "How's Rapunzel?"

"She's fine," Elsa reported, rubbing her temples in fatigue and feeling a dull itch returning to her bandaged hand. "I think she may be a bit overwhelmed by the whole 'big city' thing."

Kristoff turned away from the wall-length screen, where he was uploading the most pressing criminals to the display. By having the files added to the system, Olaf's computer automatically started narrowing down likely sites where they could found due to a hastily written algorithm. Unfortunately, Olaf's program could be improved upon as over a week they had still not found the elusive twins.

"Corona's just as big as Arendelle," Kristoff pointed out, face sceptical. "Surely she would be used to it by now?"

"Not really, 'Punzel lives outside of Corona," Elsa revealed, reflecting on her cousin's strange living arrangement. "She lives in a villa or something about twenty miles from the city with a _really_ weird nanny. Did I miss anything here?"

Pabbie and Kristoff looked at each other, passing a secret message which spoke volumes without betraying any information. They hadn't contacted her about any crimes, making this the first night that had nothing pressing to report since she had started being the Vigilante a month ago. Part of this perturbed her greatly. In a city this large there should be some form of crime taking place at least once a night. Evidently, small muggings were too numerous and not harmful enough to be listed as major priorities, but Elsa found it surprising the twins (who had a particularly ridiculous name) hadn't made an appearance this evening. Over the last few weeks these escaped convicts had been getting more and more bold in their activities.

At last, Kristoff pulled out his police issue notepad and flipped through a few articles.

"There was a drive-by shooting in the manufacturing district, most likely a result of drinking and poor gun control. No injuries," He reported, flicking to the back of his scribbles. "The fire you went to last night _was _arson, but we're already on the trail of the arsonists so we've left that for the moment. The most interesting thing to happen tonight was an attempted assault at the mall three hours ago; ten guys went after one couple because of owed money."

"That's sounds important," Elsa pointed out, at once feeling guilt for not appearing to aid the victims. Obviously she wouldn't have been able to get across the city to stop the crime whilst it was taking place, but she could have pursued the attackers. "Why didn't you call me?"

"We _were _going to," Kristoff defended, turning to the display and pulling up a paparazzi picture of an alley beside the mall. "But then all the perps were apprehended by someone else just as we were about to."

The picture on the screen showed a group of police officers surrounding a dumpster filled with unconscious men. There was no question over who these men were, given that melee weapons had been lined up against the wall with a final hooded man sprawled across the pavement with 'ringleader' written across his forehead. Needless to say the police were visibly baffled by this turn events, perhaps even more so since the hallmarks of the Arendelle Vigilante (namely the ice) was completely absent from the scene. Whoever had done this was effective, quick and had an expertise in crime fighting.

"Any ideas who did that?" Elsa asked, inspecting the pixels thoroughly.

"None whatsoever," Kristoff swiftly answered, flicking the picture away again to focus on their main targets. "But Nancy at the office said the witnesses saw a parkour guy in a waistcoat jumping in to help."

Up to this moment Pabbie had silently observed the pair without interrupting, spinning his own theories over the mystery assailant who had stopped an Arendelle crime. It begged the question not of who this person was specifically, but _where_ they came from. In the years before Elsa's return the old man had heard stories of the remarkable people across the nation who made it their business to protect the public. Factoring in the recent pursuit of the escapees, Pabbie felt he could reasonably guess who had made an appearance. However, he remained silent on this matter for the moment. That hurdle would be crossed if absolutely necessary. An encounter with a certain other vigilante may be avoided yet.

Therefore, when Elsa glanced to him in questioning he instead nodded towards her gauze wrapped hand.

"Anna rang me this morning, asking if I had a remedy for that burn of yours," Pabbie said, lifting the bandaged appendage and inspecting it. "How bad is it?"

"Well, there's a whole in my hand and I can't move my fingers for all the blisters," Elsa described, twitching her fingers weakly in demonstration. "It's getting in the way of holding a pen, and it's not freezing anything."

"And I thought you wanted to be rid of the powers," Pabbie drily commented, unwrapping the bandage to reveal the red and purple wound along with the crusting honey. "What's this?"

"Manuka honey," Elsa said apprehensively, watching her advisor dismissively scrap some of the syrup off her wrist. "Anna thought it would help."

"Never been proved, but it does keep the wound clean," Pabbie commented, pulling an antiseptic wipe from his lab coat and handing it to her before marching further into the facility. "Wipe the honey off, I think I have something better."

In the intervening minutes Pabbie was gone, Kristoff and Elsa sat in silence whilst she tenderly scraped the crystallising honey off of her skin. They would spare each other a few glances, but felt too awkward to maintain eye contact. This was mostly due to the fact that, outside of the Vigilante business, they knew nearly nothing about each other. Apart from that first night when Kristoff rescued her, Elsa had not mentioned any of her fears or her hopes and he had not so much as referenced anything beyond police work. Olaf had tracked down his address through the internet, giving some reference to his character. Kristoff lived in one of the roughest areas of the Mountains and no doubt saw much of the crime on a daily basis in a far more personal way than Elsa viewed it. Other than that, all that was really known about the cop was his dedication to the job.

He did, however, watch out for Elsa regardless of their distant friendship. It had been obvious from their first encounter that Anna was the centre of Elsa's universe and the one thing she protected above all else. However, it also just so happened that Anna semi-regularly contacted Kristoff and this was a matter Elsa was deeply interested in.

"Has my sister called you recently?" Elsa asked when the silence became too much.

"Yes. Yesterday morning she left me a voicemail," Kristoff related openly. "She's asked me out for coffee."

"She has a boyfriend." The platinum blonde said disdainfully, wincing when the cloth dragged across the jagged edges of the burn.

"I know, Hans Westerguard," He recalled, inadvertently scowling at the name much like Elsa did despite not knowing the rich boy very well. "Anna did stumble over that fact. She insisted it was just coffee as friends."

Elsa looked up alertly.

"Are you friends?" She questioned, worried that her two identities were meeting more than they should.

"No, she's really just after information on you," Kristoff assured, as he pointed towards the displayed blue suit in the centre of the room. "Or 'Snowdrop' over there."

"We're not calling the Vigilante 'Snowdrop'. It's not scary enough," Elsa argued, pulling the last of the honey off her damaged skin. "And I hope you won't be seeing her again."

"I do my best not to."

Following the incident with Facilier, the strange pattern of Anna contacting Officer Bjorgman had arisen with persistent force. She had tacked down his personal phone number, through the phonebooks, and had claimed to recall more details about the Vigilante. Naturally, Kristoff had responded the first time by conducting a formal interview to both fulfil his official duties and paradoxically mask Elsa's involvement. However it had soon turned out that Anna was hoping she might be able to coax police details out of him for a reason undiscernible to the little team. Nevertheless, Kristoff had seen through her motives and now ignored the younger Noble's calls, even when under the pretence of social meetings. Those were inevitably against regulation anyway, although his presence on the Vigilante's team was also definitely against regulation if not illegal.

"Good. Thank you." Elsa said, at once feeling both the weight and the awkwardness of the situation. Anna could never know.

With a quiet whistle, Pabbie ambled back into the hub without being aware of the issue the younger Noble could present. In his hands he carried a test tube, a swab and a pile of fresh bandages.

"Alright, Elsa, this is a diluted sample of the regenerative serum," Pabbie explained, dipping the swab into the gold-tinted solution within the test tube. "This should aid the healing process, but only to a superficial extent. It won't cure you."

"I'm not trying to be cured," She reminded, lifting her palm and hissing as the damp cotton brushed over the burnt area. "Not yet, anyway."

"How quickly should this work?" Kristoff asked, inspecting the damage from a respectable distance. "I mean, you said it sped up healing; but how fast are we talking?"

"Just watch." Pabbie said, pleased with himself and observing the changes with interest.

As if watching a succession of slides taken weeks apart, the skin on Elsa's palm slowly stitched itself back together. The discoloured bruising faded in a matter of minutes, becoming the pale alabaster it normally was and smoothing in such a way that it looked as if there had never been any damage at all. Indeed, Pabbie did not even have to apply more of the solution to her other blisters as they deflated and disappeared almost of their own accord. What was more, the itching, irritating pain Elsa had felt over the last few days calmly faded as if pulled out by a ghostly massage. Within five minutes; Elsa's hand was good as new. Perhaps even better.

"And this was a tribal remedy?" Elsa had to ask, disbelief written across her eyes while she wiggled her fingers unhindered by agony.

"Not quite," Pabbie denied, corking the test tube and handing over the bandages. "I took the trigger genes out of a plant, as well as the oils, and recombined them with a vaccine-strength virus. Naturally the capabilities were improved. In a large enough quantity, this medicine can undo genetic damage. It will replicate lost DNA from other cells and implant the sequences lost in cell division."

Elsa thought this over for a moment, identifying the limitless potential this one sample could have if released to the public. Goddard might simultaneously worship and curse Pabbie's research if the old man had developed a possible cure for aging. Wars had started over less. This would be the gift of youth to anyone who could get their hands on it.

"What are these for?" She questioned when she realised she was still holding linen bandages.

"Cover-up," Pabbie simply said, pocketing the formula. "If Anna saw you had a burn, and you wear the bandage for a few weeks whilst the Vigilante does not, you will be distanced from your night time activities. At least, you should be."

Accepting this reasonable precaution, Elsa started wrapping the gauze around her hand again. This time she felt nothing as her unblemished skin disappeared under layer after layer. The guilt of lying to everyone, particularly her sister, weighed her down from this single excuse. In the past few weeks she had claimed to be in meetings or ill, now she was feigning injury. How far would she have to go to maintain her secret?

"You better keep that miracle medicine safe," Kristoff observed, having figured out what Pabbie had meant by replicating lost DNA. "That could make you a national criminal just by making something of that calibre."

"The research I've been doing at the Noble Corporation is more akin to the tribal remedy," Pabbie assured, always ahead of the danger. "This powerful variation is only for Elsa. I've only got enough to give her a dose and carry out a few tests. If needs be, it will never have existed."

Never have existed. It was a silent worry among all of them that one day they might have to make the entire operation look like it had never even started. At this moment there was no set plan in the event they had to evacuate. Should anyone, be it a police officer or a teenager or a homeless man seeking shelter, walk into the abandoned North Mount Station and find the operational hub it would not take them long to realise who used this space. Especially when there was a less than inconspicuous blue suit literally on display and a wall dedicated to the electronic exhibition of hunted criminals. They would have to talk about a back-up plan soon.

However, Elsa felt drained by the day's events; surprisingly having become more tired by spending an afternoon with her family rather than carrying out her self-appointed duties. Wordlessly, she rose from her, or rather Olaf's, ergonomic seat and dragged herself towards the camp bed with weary feet. Kristoff and Pabbie recognised her overriding need for rest at this moment, as this was technically her first complete day off since her return from Norway. No business to attend to, both official and illegal.

They decided the hunt for the Stabbington Brothers could wait until morning.

* * *

As the sun crept through the blinds of Anna's bedroom, marking the point when most people would rise from slumber, the occupant of the bed merely snored and covered her eyes with the crook of her elbow. Her bed covers were strewn across the room, most of them having been kicked off during the night to pool around, but not on, her body. The usual sleek, soft red braids had become a tangled mess which many would regard as untameable. Patches stuck up randomly, with a few strands twisting into her mouth to be covered in drool. Indeed, an overflow of saliva had occurred during sleep and now formed a small puddle beside her face on the pillow.

Everything was still for a good two hours after the sun rose. Anna snored, mumbling in her sleep, whilst the city awoke outside. On an average day, Anna could very easily sleep in until gone one in the afternoon. She never cared she had missed most of the sunlight. She considered herself far and away more of a night owl anyway.

However, on this particular morning the very antithesis of Anna's usual sleep pattern knocked tentatively but firmly on the door in a quest to find some sorely needed company. This was the first time in years that Rapunzel had awoken with company nearby and she desperately wanted to feel the benefits of companionship. There was, after all, only so much conversation a pet chameleon could offer.

"Anna?" Rapunzel asked slowly, nudging the door open with a careful finger. "Good morning."

Her cousin, still blissfully asleep, rolled over. She left a shiny trail of drool behind her. Rapunzel pulled a face at this less than attractive behaviour.

"Anna?" Rapunzel said, louder now. It was obvious that Anna could hear her, she just needed some encouragement to get up. "Come on, it's morning. Breakfast's ready."

Carefully extending one finger, Rapunzel poked Anna's cheek in the hopes it might rouse her to the land of the living. Instead, the red head unconsciously smacked the hand away and she grunted: "Five more minutes."

Taking a seat on the very edge of the mattress, the younger brunette decided there was only one way to get the sloth-like Anna out of bed. The method proved very effective as only a few short minutes later Anna was contorting and spluttering with laughter as Rapunzel resorted to tickling her into consciousness. The host only put up a meagre fight; lacking the daytime reasoning to grab hold of Rapunzel's hands and push her back. This left Anna dozy, out of breath and, most importantly to Rapunzel, awake.

"Alright!" She cried good-naturedly, regaining her composure but still sprawled lazily across the bed. "I'm awake! What time is it?"

"Seven fifteen." Rapunzel answered, leaning over to nudge the blinds open and permitting a blazing ray of light into the room.

"Seven fifteen?" Anna asked, whispering in fatigue again. "Do we have royalty visiting? Again? Why are you up this early?"

"Oh, I was up way earlier," The brunette dismissed nonchalantly. "I was getting bored waiting for you to wake up. Sorry."

"No, no, s'alright," Anna murmured at her cousin's apology before sitting up, eyes alert. "What have you been doing?"

"Well, um… I swept up," Rapunzel apprehensively listed. "Then I polished the TV and the table, waxed a few things as well, mopped the kitchen. Put the laundry in and shined the _Joan_ frame. Then I swept up again for good measure."

Anna's jaw dropped at the list of activities she lacked the enthusiasm to carry out in a _day_, let alone a single morning. Thinking about it, through her sleep-fogged mind, made her brain hurt at the idea of the sheer speed Rapunzel must be able to clean at. Was the young brunette always this productive? It went without saying that Rapunzel was a multi-talented girl; having a studious potential comparable to that of Elsa's and the grades to show her brilliance. Her accomplishments were mentioned in the annual Christmas newsletter from Anna's aunt and uncle. Most recently Rapunzel had been considered for a national gymnastics competition and had a painting accepted to a gallery. With minor bitterness, Anna noted that she had appeared to miss out on the academic 'brilliance' genes her sister and her cousin had inherited.

"Wh- Why did you clean everything?" Anna asked in confusion, blinking as Rapunzel pulled the blinds up to the far too bright sun. "I have a maid who comes around every Thursday. You're on vacation?"

"I do it every morning," Rapunzel answered, as if it was nothing. "Gothel says a structured day and a clean environment is important, so I tidy the house when I get up."

"Did it ever occur to Gothel to do the tidying?" Anna argued in her stupor, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and rubbing her temples. It was nice to not be blinded by the sun.

"No?" Rapunzel replied as if it was a silly idea. "She doesn't arrive until lunchtime, normally."

"Oh my god," Anna said through strained teeth, unable to comprehend the home life Rapunzel experienced. Even though Anna had a distant sister and less than attentive parents, it was a far sight better than what her cousin still had to this day. "You've been doing this for how long? You're nearly eighteen and your nanny makes you clean your house _every _morning. Don't you ever just want to get out?"

Surprisingly, Rapunzel was not as offended as Anna might have expected her to be. Rather than argue against this criticism of her daily routine, the younger girl instead drew more into herself and started fidgeting with a pillow. Her eyes were wide and hopeful, with a hurt truth behind them, and her small smile was nervous rather than happy.

"Y-yeah, I do actually," She admitted, hugging the pillow to her chest so that her knuckles brushed her chin. "Anna, listen, the reason I woke you up so early was because I want to ask you something and I thought you might agree more readily if you weren't fully awake, and I feel really bad about this, like, terrible but I really want to say this and-…"

"Woah, 'Punz, slow down," Anna prompted, for once realising what she sounded like when _she _rambled. Rapunzel must have been incredibly nervous. "I'm not gonna get mad or anything. Just… Do you really want to get out of Corona?"

Rapunzel, with the light behind her, was silhouetted by torment and guilt as she squeezed the cushion tighter against her chest with a half open smile and furrowed eyebrows. Sometimes Anna could quite easily forget her cousin was an equally isolated soul, having been restrained by protective parents and house staff for nearly all of her life.

"Y- Yes," Rapunzel nervously admitted. "But not permanently! I just want a little more freedom! So… I kinda came here… Without telling anyone. Don't freak out!"

Contrary to Rapunzel's belief, Anna only sat beside her with a mildly stunned expression. Then she snorted with laughter like she was being tickled again and giggled at Rapunzel's trepidation. She truly hadn't expected her cousin to be so daring, especially as this was someone she had always thought of as controlled by a slightly intimidating woman. In truth, she was proud that Rapunzel had been so daring.

"Oh my God!" Anna continued to laugh, encouraging Rapunzel to ease back into confidence. "You ran away?!"

"Well, no, no," Rapunzel answered, feeling marginally more comfortable. "I'm planning to go back… In a week or two. I just want to prove to everyone that I can manage on my own. Cheesy as this sounds, I _dream _of seeing the world. And I can't do that if I'm always being shot down by Gothel. Basically… Is it alright if I stay here? For a few weeks? I promise to pay my keep."

"Hey, 'Punz! It's fine," The redhead quickly assured, putting an arm around her cousin. "You don't have to pay for anything, I have more than enough money and you can stay for as long as you want. Seriously, I'll enjoy the company."

Rapunzel stopped her fidgeting for the moment, then flung herself into an incredibly tight and thankful hug.

"Thank you, sorry," She said, unsure of how to feel. "And sorry for waking you."

"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it," Anna insisted, pulling herself to her feet and searching for some presentable longue-wear on her bedroom floor. "Um- Let me get dressed and then we can do breakfast."

"Alright, yeah," Rapunzel agreed, heading to leave the room and give her cousin some privacy. As she reached the door, however, she looked back to spot in the corner of her vision a large noticeboard which had blended into the wall until this moment. "What's that?"

Against the far wall of Anna's bedroom, opposite her overly large bed, stood a recently purchased corkboard which had already been levied by a great number of printed articles and mapped with a web of red twine to link together separate pieces of writing. It was a complex diagram in a bizarrely ordered system through dates and highlighted notes and photos that could only have taken hours of painstaking attention to organise. If Anna had put this much concentration into this five-by-three foot display into any formal studies she could have accomplished any number of degrees. But here, in shady glory, was a deeply analytical timeline of the Arendelle Vigilante.

Taking careful steps towards the exhibit, Rapunzel silently followed the order of events from the Vigilante's first appearance in saving Anna from the mall heist to the most recent rescue in a house fire two days ago. Staring intently at the tiny, blurred picture of the ice woman splaying her hand in pain, Rapunzel could have sworn she'd seen something similar very recently. Of course, she may have been imagining things.

"Is this _her _then?" Rapunzel asked, looking at the clearest media image that existed of the local hero; captioned by a ridiculous name. "The 'Arctic Warrior'?"

"That one trended on Twitter," Anna commented shyly, embarrassed by the discovery of this obsession. "It hasn't been used since, though."

Beneath each incident of the Vigilante's work, there were a series of photographs showing the extent of the ice at the various crime scenes as well as a few speed-hampered pictures of the woman on a snow-blue motorcycle. There were a multitude of post-it notes attached to most of the pictures and documents asking questions or pointing out minor details.

"This… Is… Impressive," Rapunzel decided on, admiring the near-artistic quality of the work. "When did you do this?"

"Erm… Most nights since she appeared at Elsa's house," Anna admitted, stepping to stand beside Rapunzel. "I know this must look… phenomenally weird, but it's all for something."

"Anna, do you want to find her?" The brunette plainly asked, realising the not-so hidden truth.

"Well… Yeah, I do," She said, staring intently at the most recent picture without spotting her close relation to the Vigilante. I want to thank her, and help her. I owe her a lot."

Rapunzel nodded, understanding Anna's yearning to reach her 'dream'. It may be a new dream, but it counted nonetheless, and who was she to deny her cousin?

"Just be, er… Just be careful," Rapunzel chose to warn, feeling a conditioned fear of anything which might be dangerous. "You know she only appears when there are guns around, right?"

* * *

The afternoon sun was lowering slowly through the deep blue sky, beating down a summer heat which was much weaker than the one he was used to. Honestly, Arendelle just seemed like a cold place to live, of course he was born in more temperate climes where the forests were always green and the nights were never chilly. It did, however, make a nice change to not be too hot while on his daily rounds. In fact he could wait quite happily on top of the deserted building without having to search for any shade. A pleasant, functional heat.

Flynn Rider propped one foot over the ledge of the building to lean in closer on the little opening across the street. He had waited here practically all day, which hadn't proved the most exciting activity in the world, but a necessary one if he was going to gage the resources the Arendelle Vigilante had. Last night's escapade at the mall had been a little too daring in this new city, to the point he had worried the sparkly suit might appear and judge _him _to be the bad guy. Ordinarily he wouldn't find a fellow unofficial public guardian a problem, but the rumours suggested she had extraordinary powers over ice, which was why Flynn wanted to see them before he potentially had to fight them. Fighting had come up on his previous meetings with other vigilantes.

At first glance, most people would not consider Flynn to be a threat. Eccentric maybe, stunningly handsome (in his own opinion) probably, but a threat? No. There was just something about brigand boots, tan-coloured trousers, a sleeve-rolled collarless shirt and a heavy navy waistcoat (which would have fit in perfectly in 18th century Germany) which screamed 'dandy' to the average person. His pouch decorated leather belt and black domino mask did, however, go some way to dispelling the non-harmful image. And when he punched someone, they knew about it.

So if he did have to combat the Arendelle Vigilante, he felt he would be at least an on-par hand-to-hand opponent if not greater. But if this woman really did have powers beyond what normal people could do, he wanted to know just how powerful she was. His preliminary research indicated she could be more than he could handle. He did not want to meet the same fate as the men who had taken the Noble Tower if they really got off to a bad start.

The radio he had tuned into police frequencies buzzed incessantly in the background, producing nothing terribly newsworthy. There had been a few minor crimes, mostly vandalism and speeding, which did not concern him. Frankly, Arendelle's problems weren't really his. He had quite a different target. Any help he had given so far had been purely circumstantial. It's only use to him was to either tell him where the Stabbingtons were or give him some warning as to the Vigilante's imminent appearance.

As it so happened, both his desired events occurred simultaneously. A crackly voice on the radio announced that the Corona Convicts had just been seen walking into a restaurant off Queen Boulevard with what appeared to a number of weapons. It wasn't so hard to imagine the outcome of this scenario as the distant officer called for back-up.

Not a full minute later, a young police officer and a large dog ran out of North Mount Station for the parked cruiser below Flynn's vantage point. He ducked behind the ledge and listened as the engine started underneath him; soon fading into the distance with its sirens blaring. Soon after, a smaller yet louder engine roared in the street. Flynn dragged himself back to the side of the rooftop at this noise and was greeted with the sight of the sought after ice woman racing into the empty junctions in what he imagined was the direction of Queen Boulevard.

"Alright, Snowflake," Flynn Rider said as he switched off the radio and stowed it under a vent. "Let's see what you're made of. Hopefully not actual snowflakes."

* * *

"Kristoff! What's the situation?" Elsa yelled into the concealed microphone as she rushed through the evening rush hour.

"_I can't tell, you're probably closer than I am,"_ Kristoff replied, sounding frustrated and banging on the steering wheel. "_There's gridlock around Queen Boulevard, no one's getting through."_

Elsa cursed under her breath, drifting into the centre of the road to by-pass both queues of traffic in her race to reach the scene. It had been a supremely quiet day, and she thought she would get away with another night off until the report had come through. This had left Olaf to cancel her plans with Anna and Rapunzel, a factor she regretted but could not avoid. They would just have to have a pleasant evening without her. That shouldn't be too difficult.

"Olaf, can you see the restaurant?" She asked, swinging around a corner and meeting the homestretch to the Stabbingtons' location. It seemed the immobile web of traffic stemmed from scene of the crime, where a truck had been drawn sideways across the road.

"_Yeah! It's not good," _Olaf reported from the Ice Palace. "_The cop who spotted them is knocked out, and everyone else is huddled on the floor. One of the Stabbingtons has a weapon drawn and the other's emptying the till. I'd be sneaky if I were you!"_

"How am I going to do that?" Elsa commented, slowing to a stop just out of sight of the front window.

"_Go in through the back?" _Olaf wisely suggested, with the added of advantage of being able to locate the building's plans. "_The door's unlocked and you get cover from the kitchen!"_

Deciding this was probably the wisest way to get to them, Elsa drove into the nearest alleyway and kicked off the engine. As promised, there was an unlocked exit at the rear of the building which led her directly into the kitchen. The supposedly ordered surfaces had been cleared of everything to indicate the staff had been forcefully removed from the room. Amongst the spatters of sauces and foods, there was a familiar tinge of red which Elsa hoped was not actually blood. Hopping across the utensil-covered floor, trying her best not to disturb the mess, she reached the door and peeked through the window at the crime unfurling just beyond the glass.

Like Olaf had described, there was a police officer sprawled across the floor with worrying stains seeping into the tiles. A brute of an attacker, standing well over six feet tall, swept a gun across the scene to keep the scared people at bay. With a single eye, he watched mothers try to calm children and the waiters stare at him in fear. The Stabbington looked as if he were keeping watch over a tank of fish with the uncaring expression he pulled. He quite literally couldn't look anymore disinterested.

His associate, on the other hand, was far more expressive as he relentlessly beat the maître d' for all to see.

"Come on! Where's the safe?!" He bellowed into the maître d's bloodied face. When the head waiter proved unwilling to reveal the location, the redheded giant squeezed his cheeks to reveal the newly missing teeth. "You saw what we did to the manager. We don't care what happens to you. So save us both a lot of trouble and just tell us."

A final blow to the temple brought out a weeping admission from the maître d' of "It's in the office! Oh God! Behind the desk in the office!"

Pushing the crying man to the floor, the Stabbington rose to his full height and turned to his brother.

"Gregor," He instructed, pulling out his own gun. "Fetch the money, I'll watch out for the pigs."

Silently, the eye-patch wearing Gregor strode towards the entrance to the kitchen where Elsa was hidden. She luckily managed to duck under the window before he could spot her.

"Olaf, tell me when he's roughly a foot away." Elsa instructed, bracing her shoulder against the wood.

A mere second later, Olaf unintentionally yelled '_Now!' _into her ear; prompting her to kick off the floor and force the window of the door into Gregor's face. The glass shattered against his head, spraying both sides with little shards as he yowled in pain. She kicked the door again, knocking him back into the dining area before she burst through to rugby tackle him to the ground.

Unfortunately, Gregor's build was too sturdy to unbalance with her light frame and he was able to flip her to the ground with one hand. The huddled people gasped as they realised the Vigilante had arrived, all silently praying she would be able to overpower the twins but not one of them moving to help her.

Elsa, dizzy from the sudden fall, took a moment to regain her bearing and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a bull-like blow from Gregor. He was large and powerful, but he did not gain any speed with his strength and his single eye was a major weakness as he lost sight of her for a crucial second. In that second she fired a blast of ice in the form of a gust composed entirely of diamond like shards which cut his left arm, followed a knife-hand chop to the back of his knee. Gregor stumbled slightly, taking a few moments too long to locate his target as she pushed herself to her feet.

When he did spot her again, he wasted no time in throwing a punch at her face. Elsa dodged this uncontrolled blow, diving to strike him in the stomach as she moved around him. It was a shock to the system when it felt like she was punching a wall instead of his lower torso, and made her pause long enough for him to hook his bleeding arm around her waist and fling her into the far wall.

Gregor watched as she slid to the ground again, landing atop a terrified couple who parted like the red sea to avoid contact with the Vigilante. Stomping across, pushing the tables between them out of the way, the one-eyed brother glanced to his companion, who raised his gun and put the ice woman's temple in his sights. Elsa didn't see this action, and pressed a shaky hand against the wall for leverage as she prepared to launch herself at Gregor again. It seemed that she had quite forgotten about the other twin who was more the prepared to take her life in her distraction.

Fortunately there was a sudden _crash _ from the front window which drew the attention of every last person in the restaurant. Glass sprinkled across the cowering patrons, silencing even the screaming toddlers, to herald in the second arrival. There was no mistaking the horror on the Stabbington Brothers' when they realised who had just swung in on a rope.

"Hey fellas!" Flynn Rider cheerfully and cordially greeted. "Long time, no see. How's it hanging?"

Shaking himself out of his stupor, the leading Stabbington lunged for Rider with a gorilla strike. As if foreseeing this, Rider used the length of rope in his hand to form a loop around his opponent's branch-sized wrist before leaping off the floor. From a standing start, Rider performed a feat of gymnastics as he managed to jump over the attacker and used his gravity-aided kinetic energy to spin the Stabbington around in such a manner that the giant punched _himself_ in the face.

"Now, Vlad, didn't your momma tell you?" Rider chided, performing a turning kick to knock Vlad's gun from his hand. "It's handshakes for 'hello'. With a punch, someone might think you were trying to get rid of them."

Vlad, dazed by his own strike, only burst into a rugby tackle at the much shorter hero who had no chance to avoid such an assault. However, Rider again used the momentum to his advantage; this time snaking the same rope around Vlad's neck and, when he was tossed to the ground, use it to strangle the ginger giant into submission. The Stabbington spluttered uncontrollably as the air was cut off from him, tumbling to the floor without a choice.

Seeing his brother so easily defeated, Gregor began charging at Flynn Rider like he had seen red. Unfortunately, he failed to realise he had left the Arendelle Vigilante unguarded. Spotting her chance, Elsa flung two sheets of ice at his boots; encasing them in a thick white layer which weighed his feet down and prevented him from staying steady. With this weakness secured, she swept Gregor's snowy feet from under him and he crashed on top of his brother.

The pair were about to get up again when Rider elbow-dropped onto Gregor's back, forcing them into the floor.

"Just rest, guys," Flynn mockingly encouraged. "You've had a long day. Seen some sights, tortured a few people. I've taken the liberty of calling you a ride."

As if on cue, a Swat force hurriedly marched into position outside the shattered restaurant window. They assembled in a shielded horseshoe, openly clicking the safeties off their weapons to discourage any sudden actions by anyone inside the crime scene. At their head, surprisingly, was Captain Latimer in full riot gear with a megaphone in hand. In Elsa's opinion; this was all a bit excessive to stop two men. She didn't realise until Latimer started speaking that it wasn't the Stabbingtons they were after.

"_To the Arendelle Vigilant_e!" Latimer yelled through the speaker, making Elsa's blood run cold. "_We have you surrounded! Come out with your hands up! Any actions by you or your accomplices will result in immediate gunfire!"_

Flynn Rider looked to the Vigilante, who stood near the rear of the restaurant, then to the scared people still tucking themselves under chairs and tables. His meaning was obvious.

"What about the victims?" Elsa called back in her electronically disguised voice. "There are children in here!"

"_They will be rescued once all four of you are restrained!" _Latimer answered, raising his own weapon as he misunderstood the situation between her, Rider and the Stabbingtons.

It was then that Gregor and Vlad burst back onto their feet, knocking Rider over in the process. This interpreted act of aggression released a halo of gunfire as the Swat team shot at them. Elsa was sure that, once they had the chance to think about these events, every one of them would regret firing into a room full of innocent people.

Thankfully, she had the foresight to create a thick wall of ice at the head of the restaurant to protect the weeping and the wounded. Each impact was audible, but the barricade was thick enough to absorb the damage and remain steady. Rider turned to study her again, noting the lack of technology she had available and coming to the realisation everyone made when they saw the Vigilante in close quarters.

While this was happening, the Stabbington Brothers sped towards Elsa and barrelled through her to reach the kitchen door. She barely had enough time to cover her head before they were stomping over her and out into the alley behind the building. When Rider tried to follow he slipped on the residue ice, crashing to the tiled floor again before he could make it three feet.

"Let's go!" He instructed her as he got back to his feet, motioning for her to follow the Stabbingtons and escape the scenario. "Move it, Snowbug!"

Without further prompting, Elsa ran for the exit. Another barrage of bullets collided with her barricade, this time weakening the structure in a relentless threat to break through. Luckily there were minimal obstacles as she barged through the kitchen and into the open air of the alley. All there was to do now was escape the police in the street, although this would be fairly easy given they were still hampered by the frozen traffic.

Flynn Rider flashed past her, hopping onto a nearby trashcan before jumping for a fire escape ladder. In only a few seconds he had pulled himself up two levels.

"Meet me at City Hall, two hours!" He called down, before bounding up the rest of the ladders.

Elsa watched him for a few moments more, until he disappeared over the edge of the roof. Then she twisted her motorcycle around to escape down the opposite block and away from the chaos.

"_He seemed nice_." Olaf commented in her ear.

* * *

**So, what do you think of Flynn Rider?**

**Please Review.**


	16. New Players - Part Three

**Really starting to slip again. I've finished at midnight, a full two days after I wanted to be done with this chapter. Who knew fights were so hard to choreograph? I think I really might have to pause the story soon. Exams are only three weeks away. **

**For my weekly responses, a thank you to Victory Goddess on appraising Elsa's team (Team Frost? Team Snow?). I wasn't sure how that dynamic was going to work out, but I'm glad it's looking alright so far. There unfortunately isn't much to work on from the film since Kristoff amazingly does not interact with Elsa that much, nor does Pabbie… Or Olaf for that matter. I'm also glad Anna's investigation/obsession with the Vigilante was well received. That'll be important later on so thank goodness it's off to a good start.**

**Also, in answer to the ever attentive JJ12; I'm not sure yet. To be honest, I wasn't entirely impressed by **_**Man of Steel, **_**which was just two hours of yelling and levelling half of Metropolis (for everyone to go back to work the next day). I think there will be more focus on the implications of Superman in society than there normally is in the comics, which will be nice. As for Batman, I don't think he'll get the origin story he'll really need. I guess we all know it, but it looks like Ben Affleck just decided to put on a disappointing suit almost randomly. But hopefully I'll be surprised when it comes out.**

**As for Enchiladas, Aquaman is sehr cool. I hope more people will give him a chance and I think he proves that no matter how much people make fun of you, just carry on doing what you believe in (unless it's ritual murder or something bad like that).**

**Anyway, enough from me. It's time to introduce you to a new interpretation of Flynn (who I do not own, just in case you thought I did).**

* * *

"_Are you sure this is a good idea?" _Pabbie conscientiously asked as Elsa climbed the outside of City Hall using slim steps of ice rather than the fire escape. It was likely someone else would use that entrance. "_We don't know what he's after. It may be wiser to meet him on our terms."_

"_Stop being a worry-wart," _Olaf chided. "_I mean, Elsa's got powers! From what I can find Flynn only has free-running. What could he do?"_

"_He could bring the police?" _Pabbie suggested, perhaps a little condescendingly.

"Pabbie, he's a vigilante. Just like me," Elsa reminded, hopping onto the unevenly sloped rooftop and starting to jog to the opposite end of the building where the central plaza could be viewed from. "I doubt he's going to call anyone in, even if it's in his interests."

"_Besides," _Kristoff added from his position off Queen Boulevard. "_There haven't been any notifications on the Vigilante's whereabouts with the police so far, and Rider's only got five more minutes."_

Elsa reached the precipice which overlooked the city centre. The entire scene before her was lit like a Christmas in a brilliant electric glow. Every single evening shopper, mingling between the civil service buildings and waiting for cabs, was under a spotlight. Even from her elevated position, Elsa could see most everything; every movement, every smile, every shopping bag. It was a strangely calming view. These were people who were living peacefully and were protected because of her efforts. Of course, this may have been an over-exaggeration. These were, after all, the richer citizens who could stay out of danger on the most part. It was unlikely Elsa had needed to come to their rescue yet, nor was it likely she would touch everyone's lives. The Arendelle Vigilante was just a gossip point to some. Not a hero.

A light breeze rolled over the building, swiping Elsa's bangs down in a way which would look reminiscent of her trademark bun. As she played with the end of her braid, she considered how bizarre it was that so simple a change could make a person unrecognisable. The difference between Elsa Noble and the Vigilante was really only a matter of clothes, swept back hair and a more relaxed posture. Anyone could see past the mask if they actually thought about it. It was only due to the efforts of Kristoff that the Noble Corps CEO had been distanced from a crime fighter.

With these considerations, Elsa began to wonder if Flynn Rider was the same as her. What was his background? Did he have team like she did? Or was he on a single person crusade? He had appeared, from the brief few minutes they had meet, to be far more relaxed in his approach. But he still took it seriously. It was obvious he had met the Stabbington Brothers before; all three were from Corona. As was Rapunzel, but this was a coincidence Elsa ruled out as irrelevant. As always, she tried her best to keep her personal life and her 'work' life apart.

"Have you managed to spot him anywhere?" Elsa asked, glancing over her shoulder in paranoia. If this meeting was to be sour, she did not want Rider sneaking up on her.

"_He hasn't appeared on any of the cameras!" _Olaf cheerfully replied, fingers tapping on the keyboard rapidly. "_Not since he was in the restaurant! Have to say, he's got moves!"_

Elsa smirked slightly in amusement. It was true; Flynn Rider did have 'moves'. She hadn't expected him to have superpowers as she did, and how he went about crime fighting had bemused her since she had researched him. Apparently he was well versed in some form of combat, although none she formally recognised as a martial art, which he combined to great effect with parkour; if his standing jump and ability to effortlessly shift his momentum was anything to go by. He certainly had the build for it. Truthfully, she had to admire how resourceful he was in using the rope and effectively getting Vlad Stabbington to beat himself up. However, she did not think he could fight her for long. Elsa had proper training and all the powers of an Ice Age to back her up.

Casting a cursory glance to the base of City Hall below her, Elsa caught sight of something which made her look twice to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. They weren't.

"Olaf, can you get a visual on the entrance to City Hall?" She asked, concern notable in her voice.

"_Yeah, why?" _He asked back, not picking up on her distress.

"Do you see what I see?" Elsa questioned. From directly above she couldn't see everything, but she was now fairly certain on what she saw.

"_It's the Mayor talking to someone, why?" _Olaf stated, confused by her sudden interest in Duke Weselton's less than private meeting.

Through her earpiece Elsa could hear the undeniable sound of Pabbie's breathing as he most likely leant in to study the screen.

"_Is that Goddard?" _Pabbie probed, voice sceptical.

It was true. The ever bothersome Mr Goddard was ten floors below Elsa, in deep conversation with Duke Weselton. She had to say, they seemed like they would naturally gravitate towards each other. Both were conservative on most topics, and came from much wealthier backgrounds than the average person as well as holding some degree of influence in the running of the city. Indeed, Goddard often had his finger on the pulse of the company's, and therefore the city's, resources and Weselton could decide where those resources went. They even dressed similarly, although Weselton was much skinnier than his current companion.

But despite all this, the fact they were meeting in public and actually _knew _each other made Elsa's skin crawl. To think that two people who looked down on her, at least one of whom actually despised her, were so cordially talking made her uneasy.

"I think it is," Elsa clarified. She could recognise that growing bald spot anywhere. "Do you know if he had a meeting with Weselton today?"

"_Not one that I'm aware of,_" Pabbie honestly answered. "_He can't be representing the Noble Corporation."_

"_Might they just be, you know, _friends_?"_ Kristoff reasonably pointed out, even though he couldn't see them.

"Could be," Elsa entertained the idea, but did not look on it positively. "I still don't like this. Something seems wrong."

Down below, the wealthy pair shook hands. From this height, Elsa doubted she saw the exchange perfectly. But nevertheless; their handshake was strangely contorted. Contorted in such a manner that they were passing something more than good tidings between them.

"Olaf, can you zoom in on Goddard's hand?" She half-asked, half-instructed.

There was a brief pause as the short man carried out the command. He reported back within a minute, just as Goddard and Weselton were parting down below.

"_It's a but blurry, but…" _Olaf drew out the answer as he attempted to recognise the frozen image in front of him. "_It looks like… Is that a pen drive? Yeah! It's a memory stick! The Mayor gave Goddard a memory stick! Why did he do that?"_

"I don't know," Elsa said through gritted teeth. "I'm very tempted to find out."

"Find out what?" A newly familiar voice queried from directly beside her.

Elsa jumped in fright at this sudden appearance, almost to the extent that she came close to tumbling off the ledge of City Hall. Out of sheer instinct she unintentionally fired two streams of ice into the brick work to form a short balcony to prevent her non-existent fall. The ice glittered in the electric glow of the plaza and lit up in an eerily majestic although equally frightening manner. Indeed, the balcony was drawn into two tapering points which were more than capable of impaling anyone who landed on top of them. As the new arrival regarded the structure curiously, he absentmindedly likened the frozen fence to the lower jaw of a tiger.

As if he could appear in a puff of smoke, Flynn Rider casually leant against a statue of a horse (which, incidentally, had the granite expression of extreme abhorrence to his presence). He gave Elsa a cursory, nearly uninterested glance to appreciate her powers as he flicked through a recently stolen newspaper. The front cover was adorned with a less than steady picture of himself and the Arendelle Vigilante at the crime scene just over two hours ago, with the words '_A Dangerous Duo?' _emblazoned on the headline. In the picture, it could be seen that Elsa was in the process of building the dense barricade while Rider stared out at the crowd in a decidedly spiteful way. This was not a flattering portrayal and not what Elsa wanted to be known as. The media would run this for as long as possible in an attempt to catalyse the capture of the Vigilante.

"Congratulations!" Flynn said after a moment's quiet as Elsa studied the photograph. "We made the front page! I'm actually surprised there is an evening edition of the paper. I would've thought it was all digital by now. It is in Corona, so-…"

"What do you want?" Elsa harshly interrupted on the prompting of Pabbie in her ear. She partially regretted her cold attitude, but it seemed that the Corona Vigilante had cost her serious popularity points in the public eye if the people thought she was trying to _harm _innocent diners. It was hard to believe the situation could be interpreted in any other way than what it actually was.

"Wow! Ouch. Don't I get a 'thank you'?" Rider jokingly seethed, placing one hand over his heart as if he'd been stabbed. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you had obvious advantages over the Stabbies back there. That Captain Cold trick is seriously useful. But don't I at least get a high five for swinging in to help? You were about to be shot."

Sighing disdainfully, Elsa couldn't help but accept his evaluation of the situation. She had been a little overwhelmed by the formidable statures of the two thieves and probably would have been injured if he hadn't intervened. However, his intervention was still detrimental to her public image, especially if his mysterious reputation was being associated with her.

"_Thanks_." She said, in a strained electronic voice.

"You don't have to keep that voice modifier on around me," Rider went on, pretending to inspect the mask to see if he could spot the microphone. "It's not like I'm going to instantly recognise you from your voice. I'm not from here."

"I prefer to keep it on." Elsa argued, crossing her arms in a childish fashion. She did not appreciate some guy, whoever he may, appearing and telling her how to conduct herself. Yes, he had more experience in the crime fighting business, but he had also managed to make people think 'criminal' when they saw him.

Rider hummed in an intrigued fashion as he folded the newspaper and discarded it without care. It flapped down the ten storeys between them and the earth, probably catching the attention of a few passers-by when it landed with a strong _slap _against the pavement. He placed the crook of his thumb under his chin to give off the idea he was thinking deeply, but the way he recited it made it sound as if he had already thought through what he was going to say next. He most likely had.

"So, you don't want to turn it off, which means your voice _is _recognisable," He reasoned, watching her masked expression with an oddly piercing intelligence. "That means you must be a public figure, if you're worried that just _anyone_ will recognise you by the way you speak. Of course, I don't know the city, but there can only be so many young people of that description. And, unless you're wearing a wig, even fewer possibilities. Platinum blonde is such a rare, natural hair colour."

Without thinking, Elsa closed the distance and punched Flynn Rider directly on the jaw. He staggered back from the blow, having been aware of her approach but having done nothing to protect himself. Rather, he rolled his lower jaw a few times as he groaned in humoured pain. His jovial spirit had not been diminished in the slightest by this.

"Safe to say I'm onto something there, Snowflake," Rider noted, straightening up while he rubbed the point of impact. "You really haven't been doing this long."

"What do you want?" She hissed, staring daggers into him for his trespass on her identity. The ground under her feet started to frost over as her powers slipped from her grasp. In the intervening weeks she had adjusted on the most part to her increased abilities, which had been drained by her Voodoo fuelled outburst to some extent. They were still growing, but not at quite the same rate as before. "You're trying to get an advantage over me. You're trying to blackmail me. I do not respond well to blackmail; just look at George Jones!"

"And which persona was he trying to blackmail?" Rider asked, putting his guard up this time and smirking at his jibe. "No one's actually seen him since his arrest, so he must have really pissed you off."

There was a pause as Elsa processed this news. It was true that there had been almost no mention of Jones since his arrest. When she thought about it, Facilier had also been very light in the news columns once he was in Police custody. The coincidence that presented itself to her was a surprise at the very least, although she restrained herself from jumping to conclusions. In scientific observation there needed to be three instances of a result to form a pattern. As of yet, none of her other foes had vanished quite so readily without trail. Perhaps, she entertained, there was a link between Jones and Facilier to make them target her sister and her guest, Prince Naveen. But she was not going to give in to paranoia now. Not when she had another problem to deal with.

"What do you want?" Elsa repeated, opening her palm towards him as warning.

"Alright, I won't make any more guesses," Rider casually deflected momentarily. "Basically, Snowflake, I'm here because you have two visitors to this town who are wanted felons back in Corona. My good Police Chief, and frequent enemy, Maximus is unwilling to follow them here because he thinks your department can handle them. As I'm _more than sure_ you're aware, Arendelle is frankly the pits when it comes to stopping criminals. And the Stabbingtons' are very dangerous. So I've come instead to apprehend good old Vlad and Gregor, and I'd appreciate it if you _stay out of my way_."

The way he demanded free reign of Arendelle was almost comical to Elsa. She had to force down her spiteful laugh while she regarded him coolly. There was no way she was letting him run around her city chasing down the people he had failed to keep hold of.

"Well, Mr Rider, I appreciate your concern," She mockingly thanked, having nearly lost her patience with him. "But I have it covered. Thanks for looking out for us Northerners, anyway. You can go home if you want."

Elsa turned away to indicate the end of their conversation, but then felt a large hand slam down on her shoulder to force her to look at him.

"I don't think you understand, little Missy," Rider lowly warned. "The Stabbingtons' are a bit more than you can handle, even with your Ice Rink powers. I have experience with them. I know how they think. So we can save each other a lot of pain if you just let me go after them. You can just go and worry about petty thieves. Leave the proper criminals to us proper vigilantes."

"You're not endearing yourself," Elsa answered, forming a mass of snow in one hand as an example of her powers. "As for 'proper criminals', I think Dr Facilier proves I can handle this city just fine without you. And it doesn't take too much to get inside their heads, especially if some fool like you can do it. But thank you anyway, buh-bye."

With more force, Elsa strode confidently away from Flynn Rider in the direction of the exit. As introductions went, this had been one of the more disastrous although she owed this to the fact her companion was so at once disagreeable. There was no way on Earth she would let such a man run around her city and do a poorer version of her own job. All he had was wit and charm and luck to go on, while she had powers, a keen knowledge of Arendelle and had a supporting team to help her out. The Stabbingtons barely stood a chance against her, even if she held back and didn't freeze them in place. Rider was truly superfluous.

"_Elsa, be careful," _Pabbie warned, although she was barely listening and focusing on getting good distance between her and Rider. "_We don't know how far he'll go, especially now you've refused him."_

Still, the meeting could have gone much worse.

"One last time," Flynn Rider piped up behind her, voice heavier than it had been a moment before. "Let me capture my guys. If you get in my way, I'll have to stop you, _Elsa_."

She froze. Rider had made it more than obvious he had formed a dangerous working theory on her identity, but so did most people. Unfortunately, she had failed to realise just how close he was to the truth. And her pause had more or less confirmed his guess if he hadn't actually known previously. She suddenly felt much less secure as the Vigilante.

Swivelling on the spot, Elsa's gaze would have burnt holes through his head if she was capable of it. It was very tempting to incapacitate him, threaten him into remaining quiet and leaving as soon as possible. Instead, and at Olaf's urging, she didn't strike straight away. To make her position clear, she forced an opaque white stalagmite into existence next to her before speaking again.

"What did you say?" She asked; voice all the more foreboding under her disguise.

"I said, I'll have to stop you," Rider repeated, stepping towards her. "This may involve tipping off the police to a certain Elsa Noble's whereabouts to keep you busy for a little while."

"You think I'm Elsa Noble?" Elsa tried to play it off as an incorrect assumption, if only to regain some control of the situation. She had physical force, yes, but Flynn Rider could easily ruin her regardless.

"Oh, no," He said, closing the distance even further. "I _know _you're Elsa Noble. The equipment, the location of your little base, your hair colour. It's not actually that hard to realise who you are. I don't know how you'll convince the police, the city, and your sister otherwise, but it will keep you out of my way long enough for me to do what I need to."

A second, taller icicle forced itself up for the roof on Elsa's other side, followed by a third behind Flynn.

"I don't think you will tell the police I'm anyone," She returned, flexing her fingers before drawing them into a fist. He had truly struck a nerve in her. "Not least because you'll be behind bars."

"Better men than you have tried," Rider laughed, although his stance hardened also. "Actually, a few women as well. Merida nearly gave me a run for my-…"

Before he could finish the sentence, Elsa swung forwards with a right hook followed by a swift uppercut. However, he somehow had expected this and dodged both strikes by leaning backwards while simultaneously curving himself around the spike which threatened to seriously wound him. Taking advantage of his shifted balance, the Arendelle Vigilante slid a foot to the leg most of his weight was sat on and kicked up to the back of his knee. He crumpled, but managed to catch himself to roll into a kneeling position a short distance away. The way in which he had moved had allowed him to use his other foot to connect with Elsa's outstretched palm in transit; causing her to lose aim and fire a cascade of ice into the darkening air instead.

"_I don't know what you're doing," _Kristoff said, having listened from his far-off position. "_But do not fight Flynn Rider!"_

"I can beat him." Elsa said under her breath as she marched out to meet her opponent closer to a ledge which overlooked a back alley.

"No, you can't." Flynn said, having heard her despite the noise around them.

When she reached him, Elsa lunged towards him again. His quick dodge to the left had been expected, allowing her to twist into a reverse turning kick which caught him in the shoulder and pushed him even closer to the edge of the building. Of course, when he grabbed onto her raised leg she was met with a serious disadvantage as Rider pulled her around on the spot to make her lose her reduced footing. She crashed to ground without having the gymnastic skills to flip herself back up again, unlike Rider. When she did scramble up again, she found that Flynn Rider had used his very niche skills to leap over the alley between City Hall and the nearest neighbour. From his new spot he waved cheekily.

"_Elsa, do not follow him." _Pabbie severely instructed, although he was not there to stop her. Surely he must have realised how important it was to Elsa that Flynn Rider did not disclose her identity.

Throwing caution to the wind, Elsa blasted a bridge between the two buildings into being before giving chase to her escaping adversary.

* * *

Elsewhere, Rapunzel poked at her fish and chips with a fork disinterestedly. Her day had been largely productive; she had spent the morning shopping with Anna before dragging her cousin to the Arendelle art gallery to absorb the City's culture. Of course, the largest private collection in the state was at Elsa's disposal, but unfortunately the blonde had been unable to get away from important paperwork to give her a tour or something to that effect. In her stead, Anna had tried her best to entertain and had managed pretty well for most of the day. After the gallery they had watched a parody of various superhero movies at Anna's apartment before heading out for dinner.

All had been going well until about five minutes ago, when Anna's phone had lit up with a subscription article concerning the Vigilante. Since then she had been more or less silent as she intently studied every word in the hopes of gleaning every possible bit of information. Obviously, this did not make for good dinner conversation and so Rapunzel felt marginally ignored. Every now and again, Anna would make a little cry of excitement, but did not share anything of what she read.

"Does she do this a lot?" Rapunzel half-whispered to the third patron of _Oaken's _a their table.

Hans Westerguard cocked an eyebrow at his redheaded neighbour in puzzlement, then turned to answer.

"This is the first I've noticed," He answered honestly, meeting her gaze with wide, genuine eyes. "It's oddly disconcerting."

Humorously, Hans waved his hand in front of Anna's face. She ignored him, opting instead to lean closer to the screen as if she were trying to damage her eyes with the phone's glare. Out of politeness, Anna did murmur a 'sorry' but remained fixated on her reading. Hans shrugged good naturedly before reaching for what remained of his burger. Needless to say, conversation was lacking.

Rapunzel picked at her fries with limited hunger in this strange silence. The two days she had spent in Arendelle had been some of the most enjoyable of her life. For one she was not pressured by studying or gymnastics or trying to look like the perfect Gothel thought she should be. But at the same time, she knew that it couldn't last. If her parents or worse, namely Gothel, hadn't rung Elsa in anger at her disappearance yet then it was only a matter of time. And Rapunzel hadn't managed to ask her elder cousin to protect her yet. She imagined that Elsa, who was famously a stickler for rules and laws would not be quite as forgiving for the imposition of looking after a runaway.

Additionally, Rapunzel wasn't sure how much she liked the city; specifically at night. In all seventeen years of her life, she had never sleep anywhere but in the countryside under the strict watch of her nanny. Now she had thrust herself into a potentially dangerous city. Seeing the site of a Vigilante strike earlier today did not help, as the mall had been bustling with cops investigating an attack. And if Anna's sudden interest in the news was anything to go by, it would appear there had been another notable situation today. If crime was this prevalent in the day, Rapunzel hated to think how many 'ruffians' there would be after dark. Certainly enough to make her feel insecure.

Due to this strange mix of liberated glee and uneasy dead, Rapunzel found herself going through strange periods of being unable to eat and losing all interest in the wonderful freedom she could experience. As soon as she could speak to Elsa about letting her stay in Arendelle under the protection of the only legal adult she was related to, she would be able to relax much more.

"Yoo-hoo!" A cheerful German voice called from the side of the table. "How is your meal?"

Rapunzel jumped in her seat to face the restaurant owner, who gazed down on her warmly from his extraordinary height. Oaken, despite his gentle manner and calm demeanour, scared her slightly. She put it down to the fact he was by far the largest person she had ever laid eyes. He looked as if he could pick her, Anna and Hans up easily enough with one hand, although this was probably a paranoid exaggeration.

"It's- It's good, thank you." Rapunzel stuttered, immediately eating a few fries to appease the nonplussed giant.

"Everything's wonderful, Oaken," Hans suavely appraised, holding up his empty glass. "But could I have another Corona Beer and two more Cokes for these lovely ladies?"

"Ja, zhey vill be here shortly." Oaken answered, taking the three empty glasses in one bear paw and turning to leave, although be stopped to look at Anna quizzically.

Once Oaken had disappeared behind the bar, Hans focussed more on Rapunzel than he had previously and gave her a look which, on ordinary people, would have made her believe she was the only interesting person in the world. However, Rapunzel believed differently and was far from the typical person a Westerguard would encounter. She had rarely been in a complex social setting, but had watched enough television to recognise an almost condescending display of fondness.

"So, '_Punzie_," Despite how nice he had been so far, Rapunzel couldn't but dislike the way he said her name. "Anna says you're a gymnast?"

"Er, yeah. I guess I am," Rapunzel replied, not truly knowing what to say about herself. "I mean, I'm not competitive, but I'm quite good on a ropes course. Do you do any sports?"

Hans laughed slightly at the question. "Well, not really. I dabble in a few. One of my brothers does fencing and I used to go with him. But that was years ago."

"One of your brothers?" Rapunzel repeated, feeling there was more to the saying than was actually said. "How many do you have?"

"Twelve," Hans somewhat reluctantly revealed. "All older."

It was a conscious effort for Rapunzel not to let her jaw drop at the news.

"There are _thirteen_ of you? How did your parents cope?" She immediately regretted the most likely rude questions an hastily added an apology which Hans understandingly waved off.

"With a couple hundred million in the bank, a series of country mansions and a team of nannies," Hans listed off, with a not entirely happy expression at the memories. "We were also left to look after ourselves on the weekends. Although, three of them never took to me fondly. The curse of being the youngest."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rapunzel said. "But being an only child's quite lonely."

"Well, forgive me, but that's not the worst it can get," Hans almost angrily replied before he could stop himself. He shook himself back into joviality and apologised profusely. "I'm sorry about that, it's a bit of a tender subject. It's like a comedian, I forget who, said; the worst thing in life isn't to be alone, it's to be with people who make you feel alone."

Anna looked up briefly from her phone to say: "Robin Williams."

"Thanks, dear." Hans said, placing a chaste kiss against her forehead while Rapunzel averted her eyes.

"So, do you work for your parent's company?" Rapunzel asked, hoping to drive the conversation into more familiar territory.

"Yeah, I manage the local research branch," Hans said more enthusiastically. "We're actually getting an important delivery in a few days, which is exciting. For me, anyway."

Rapunzel nodded when he didn't offer any more information, not entirely understanding his glee at the idea of what was most likely a weapon.

"Weren't you trying to form a merger with the Noble Corporation as well?" She questioned, falling back on the last thing she had read about Arendelle news.

"Still trying to, but your cousin is being a bit tentative," He answered in the most neutral voice he could muster for Anna's benefit. "I think she wants to make her mark on the company before she contemplates joining the NC with my Dad's business."

"But… What do you have in common with the Noble Corp?" Rapunzel had to voice. She had never been clear on this matter. "You make weapons… And Elsa does medicines?"

Before Hans could answer, Anna suddenly leapt to her feet in excitement as she gathered her things. Without saying anything she dropped a pile of cash on the table beside her half-empty plate and turned to exit the restaurant, but was stopped when Hans grabbed her hand.

"Woah! Anna, where are you going?" He asked, confused by her sudden departure.

"The Twitter for the Vigilante just retweeted a post, it said she was chasing someone and they're heading in this direction!" She exclaimed, gently pulling her hand from her boyfriend's. "I gotta go find her! Word is she's fighting Flynn Rider!"

Rapunzel's ear perked up. Even though she lived outside of Corona, she had heard about Flynn Rider's reputation as a questionable hero of the streets. He had first appeared three years ago and, even though she didn't follow his adventures like Anna did with her own Vigilante, she knew enough to recognise this was probably a dangerous fight.

"Anna, this sounds like something we should avoid." Rapunzel warned, knowing that her cousin wanted to chase down the walking snowstorm in the hopes of talking to it.

Unfortunately, Anna didn't listen to her and sped off form the table at full speed. Unable to stop her, Rapunzel got up from her own seat and chased after her without thinking about the potential consequences. She noted out of the corner of her eye than Hans made to follow them, but was stopped by Oaken who had arrived with their refreshments at just the wrong time and had started asking puzzled questions. It was not until Rapunzel burst out onto the emptying, dark street that she realized she was in pursuit of her rather obsessive cousin in a city she didn't know where two 'superheroes' were fighting out their problems.

Suddenly, coming to Arendelle after the advent of the Vigilante seemed like the worst decision she had ever made.

A glimpse of red flashed on the corner of the street; causing Rapunzel to dash after it in the hopes she could still reason with Anna that she shouldn't try to meet her idol in this circumstance. Unfortunately, the Noble girl had managed to get an incredible head start on her, making it difficult for her to catch up. Anna turned at the strangest corners, making her hard to even keep in Rapunzel's line of sight. Every time she rounded another street or crossed a road, Anna seemed to have gained distance as if the will to see the fight fuelled her to superhuman proportions. A stitch as already burning across Rapunzel's right side by the time they had covered at least eight blocks.

Eventually, she had to pause in her pursuit to catch her breath. It was an unwise thing for her to do, but a required one if she had any hope of finding her way to Anna.

By sheer chance, Rapunzel glanced up at the rooftops and spotted the very sight she was trying to avoid. Despite the heat of the summer evening, a bizarre bridge composed entirely of ice had been formed between two buildings. An inspection of the next few blocks showed similar structures had been erected in the direction Anna had raced off in. All of a sudden it didn't quite as hard to find them after all.

Cautiously, Rapunzel jogged on to follow her new signposts.

* * *

After covering the distance between the central plaza and reaching a rooftop on the edge of the Mountains, Flynn Rider finally turned to face Elsa properly. Until this point he had managed to evade all of her frozen projectiles using evasive manoeuvres, aided by his understanding of the urban environment. When Elsa flung an icicle at him, he would move seemingly erratically and kick off any helpful obstacle in the immediate area to dodge the icy daggers. However, where he was able to avoid any injury which would have stopped him, Elsa had the advantage in being able to cross the gaps between the buildings at a much quicker pace. Indeed, the distance between them was closing rapidly by this. Her weapons were also getting closer to their mark, although had not managed to touch Rider yet. Regardless, she felt she had him when he reached an alley too wide to cross which did not have any handy launch areas or other means of crossing.

But then Rider swung around instead, striking an elbow against her shoulder with enough force to unbalance her. Elsa fell heavily onto her back, winded from the impact and surprised he had actually managed to land a hit so perfectly. The suit had once again taken the brunt of the force, but this did not stop the throb which ebbed into existence. It took her several moments to realize she had been lying motionless, with Rider not appearing again to keep her down.

Flipping to her feet, Elsa span on the spot in an attempt to locate her adversary. She nearly completed a full circle when he suddenly grabbed her waist to lift her into the air. He unceremoniously dropped her again, making her stumble onto her knees in a way which made her left shin tingle on contact with the rough terrain. Fortunately, as Rider was twisting to strike her neck with a knife-hand Elsa was able to pounce into his lower stomach.

Rider took a few uneven steps back, sending him dangerously close to the ledge of the building. The street below was unusually busy for a weekday evening, with people meandering at various speeds completely unaware of the fight. It would not take them long to call in the police if Flynn Rider dropped onto the pavement. But before he could dash away from this spot, Elsa grabbed the scruff of his open shirt in an iron grip and punched him in the cheek once, then twice.

On her third attempt, Rider swung his left arm under and outwards from her elbow, deflecting her favoured arm. He then jabbed her just below the ribcage with a straight fingertip thrust. The force of this strike pushed Elsa away from him and he took advantage of this opened space to deliver a side kick to her left hip. Elsa was batted to the side by this kick, but was able to copy Rider's methods and roll over her shoulders back into a standing position a comfortable distance from the confrontation.

"_Elsa! Stop! This is mad!" _Pabbie yelled from the earpiece, which was only just hanging onto the outside of her ear.

"_Yeah!" _Olaf agreed. "_I can barely keep up with you on the screen!"_

Her next move was to leap into a flying kick, with the aim to catch him in the upper chest and maybe break a few ribs. However, Rider saw this coming and sidestepped the incoming foot. This sent Elsa almost over the edge of the building and into the crowds below. Strangely, despite the obvious benefit this would be to Flynn Rider, he lunged to grab the back her suit while kicking in reverse on the tarred ground. This brought her back into the safety of rooftop, but knocked both of them in a tangled mess to the floor.

They struggled in a wrestle for a few moments. Elsa was able to land a punch to his underarm and twist a leg to an uncomfortable angle, but Rider managed to punch her in the lower ribs as well as push her head painfully away from the squabbling brawl. In the end, they simultaneously scrambled away from each other in order to collect their thoughts and footing. Within seconds they were blocking each other's strikes in a bizarrely well matched contest. Where Elsa would try to kick, Rider would push her leg back down to unbalance her. But when he tried to counterstrike; Elsa would simply dodge to his side.

It wasn't until Elsa felt her boot brush against the corner of the flat-topped building that she pulled a winning move. When Rider lunged forwards for another punch, Elsa dropped into a kneeling position. His advantageous momentum then proved to hinder him, as he was sent unwillingly and by his own force to teeter on the very edge of the roof for a tense few seconds.

Then Elsa froze this corner and watched him slip over the side.

She watched him tumble off the roof of a four-storey building, with a certain amount of satisfaction which was marred by horror at what she had done. In the end she was partially thankful when Flynn managed to grab onto a telephone line. The cord snapped under his sudden weight, and he wrapped it around one hand to form a makeshift rope on which to swing to the ground. No one on the street noticed as Flynn Rider swayed into the alley, painfully crashing into the wall with his shoulder. He didn't seem hurt, but paused for a moment to roll his bashed limb into a tolerable level of pain.

"_That was actually kind of impressive!" _Olaf chirped in her ear, having hacked into the nearest camera to watch their confrontation.

"Get Kristoff over here," Elsa instructed, calmly vaulting onto the nearest fire escape to descend into the alley. "I think we've got Flynn Rider. We're not too far from _Oaken's_"

"_Message received." _Kristoff answered, confused by only hearing half the fight from his position on Queen Boulevard.

Wordlessly, Elsa climbed down the last ladder to find Rider waiting patiently for her. He held his injured arm a little gingerly, discomfort written across his face as he twisted the shoulder joint.

"I'll give it to you, you've got moves," He commented appreciatively. "And I don't know what that costume's made of, but it's like punching a spongey brick wall. Where can I get one? Does it come in men's medium?"

"Oh, be quiet," Elsa said, disgruntled by this turn of events. "Surely I've proved I can handle myself and the Stabbingtons perfectly well by myself."

"You'd think so," Rider regretfully replied, straightening his stance and preparing himself for one more round of combat. "But I'm just not willing to take another chance with them."

Breaking into a run, Rider charged down the alleyway ready to meet her rebuttal with a seemingly suicidal intent. It made Elsa wonder just how much he wanted to stop the Stabbingtons, and how dangerous they were if he was willing to go to such extremes to make sure she wouldn't be a problem. Was the pair really as deadly as the Corona Vigilante made them out to be? They were bulky, strong and enormous, but it was nothing a large amount of ice couldn't stop.

Nevertheless, Flynn Rider was ready to fight her until one or both of them were incapacitated and then nobody would be stopped from a crime spree. So, to make sure it was not her who would be spending an unknown amount of time recuperating, Elsa created a final icicle which was certain to meet its target when it was racing in her direction so forcefully.

But then there was a flash of red as the last person Elsa wanted to see appeared at the mouth of the alley. Like an enthusiastic tourist, Anna sharply broke her sprint upon glimpsing the sparkling blue and reached for her phone to take a hasty picture. Unfortunately, Anna's untimely appearance caught Elsa completely off guard, distracting her enough to make her spin on the spot and accidentally throw the icicle on target with her sister instead.

"Cool!" Anna yelled, having not seen the razor sharp natural weapon start on its new trajectory towards her.

"Anna! Get down!" Another familiar voice bellowed, as a figure Elsa recognised to be Rapunzel bounded across the entrance to the alley to tackle her sister out of the way.

Rapunzel's thankful appearance rescued Anna from what could have been a life-threatening wound, although the redhead was almost entirely outraged by the brunette's interruption of meeting her idol. Her obliviousness made Rapunzel's act of heroism near pointless, but not nearly as much as Rider's intervention proved to be.

Is Elsa had blinked in the horrifying seconds after her hand released the icicle, she would have missed Flynn shift his momentum upon hearing Anna's voice and realising the direction the ice was now travelling in. With reflexes Elsa could only dream of possessing, Flynn dragged his feet up against a wall before bouncing into the path of the white streak. As if watching the moment in painstaking slow-motion, Elsa saw Flynn stretch his palm out as Rapunzel collided with Anna get out them out of the way. While her family tumbled down, Flynn closed his hand around the shaft on the makeshift projectile and carried it with him until he could smash it against the opposing wall.

In this time, Elsa hadn't noticed that she had dropped to her knees in anguish at the thought of harming Anna with her powers _again_. Fear bubbled beneath the surface of her skin in the place of the ice, as the cold forces were expelled into an extensive frozen patch for several metres all around her. This patch sprouted like a bewitched garden into a field of tiny, sharp white blades of icy grass and great webs of _cracking _stalagmites and stalactites to completely barricade her from the outside.

Flynn watched this act of panic unfurl, then turned to see Anna pushing Rapunzel off of her so she could get up to race to the Vigilante. Seeing that this was a most likely unwise thing to do, and that Anna, having argued over the fact she had just _saved_, probably wouldn't listen to reason he marched in faux anger to meet her.

"Hey!" He shouted, opening his arms out to prevent Anna getting any further down the alley. The broken icicle was wielded as an impromptu deterrent. "Red! Get the hell out of here!"

"Oh my God!" Anna exclaimed, too excited to take much notice of how unwanted she was. To her, this was the first real success she could ever count; tracking down the Vigilante with minimal information at a moment's notice. "You're Flynn Rider!"

"Yes, I am," Rider answered, partially happy that someone recognised him. "And you're an idiot. Turn around and get out of here!"

Anna's happy gaze faltered at the harsh answering of someone she admired.

"But can't I just speak to her? A little?" Anna somewhat sadly asked.

"No!" Rider responded immediately, waving the icicle slightly more liberally. "She's a goddamn Vigilante, not a celebrity!"

Rapunzel tentatively wandered up behind Anna, carefully grabbing hold of her forearm and lightly pulling her away. Anna remained steadily persistent, and refused to move even an inch as she stared at Flynn Rider like a wounded puppy. Conversely, Flynn Rider had briefly turned his attention away from Anna to look at Rapunzel, where some recognition flashed in his knowing eyes. He had seen the pair together the day before; he reasoned he shouldn't be quite so surprised that they were together now.

"Anna, we should go," Rapunzel quietly said, eyes fixed on Flynn's weapon and not looking at the man she probably would have recalled the true name of upon sight. "Come on."

"That's right, listen to Shorty here," Flynn encouraged, motioning for her to follow. "She's got the right idea. Let me and Snowdrop work out our differences while you go back to whatever party you came from."

Slowly, with her face morphing into a mask of restrained anger, Anna followed Rapunzel away from the alley. She kept her eyes on Flynn until he melted back into the shade of the passage, after which she resentfully pulled her arm free of Rapunzel's grasp. They didn't say a word to each other the entire walk back to Anna's apartment.

Once he was happy they had gone, Flynn turned back to Elsa's frosty barricade with a strange expression of complete sympathy. With paced, peaceful movements, he stepped through the mess of sharp ice and slippery ground until he was kneeling beside her. She hadn't moved since she had built the partition, and barely reacted when Flynn dropped into a careful sitting position with his hands up.

"Okay, so maybe this," He motioned to the current setting of the alley, which wouldn't look out of place in an arctic winter. "Wasn't the best way to settle the question. And threatening you with revealing your identity wasn't my brightest idea. And causing you to nearly hurt… a civilian was just plain ridiculous of us."

Elsa bowed her head, pulling out the blinking earpiece dejectedly and turning it off.

"I can't listen to _them_ try to console me," She sadly murmured, more guilty than she had ever been. "I nearly did the very thing I promised never to do."

"Nah. It wasn't your fault." Flynn assured, breaking off a little piece of frost to roll in his fingers.

"But it was," Elsa argued, as another icicle sprouted from the ground on her opposite side. "You were right. I _am_ dangerous. I can't protect people. I'm just an accident waiting to happen."

Flynn scoffed, finding the idea silly. "You think you're dangerous? I'm the reason why the Stabbingtons only have three eyes between the two of them. That was an accident which they won't ever forgive. Yours? You didn't hurt anyone. You were just trying to stop someone you weren't prepared to trust. Which is fair. I did the same with Merida."

"Who's Merida?" Elsa lifted her head slightly at this, her interest piqued by being able to find something out about Flynn Rider.

"A friend. I think," Flynn unsurely answered, raising an eyebrow. "She's the reason I knew how to catch the ice. It's hardly different to an arrow."

The pair sat in silence for a while, listening to the traffic rumble by on the streets. A siren wailed in the distance. People walked by on the pavement, not seeing the two costumed crusaders crouched behind a complex ice statue. It was a strangely relaxing position to be in, and proved that people had already become used to the idea of an ice wielding woman patrolling the city. Obviously, Flynn reflected, someone who had made a difference already.

"Well, I think there's an obvious solution to our problem," Flynn said after the silence had shifted from needed to awkward. "I don't know Arendelle that well, and you don't know the Stabbingtons. So, naturally, I think we should team up."

"Team up?" Elsa sceptically asked.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Flynn assured. "I'll learn something, you'll learn something. Hopefully we'll teach Vlad and Gregor a good lesson. Who knows? We could be the best team up since Batman and Superman."

"Did they fight like we do?"

"I don't know. Are you weak to kryptonite?"

* * *

Midnight bells tolled from the nearest church, echoing the across the city to notify Vlad Stabbington to the changing of the day. They had been hiding in the same spot for six hours now, and his legs were getting cramped from having crouched in the small bathroom of a gas station so long. It smelt overwhelming of oil to the point Vlad doubted the material was running out quite as fast as the media made out. By the time they finally left this poor choice of a refuge, people would be able to smell them a mile off. He reasoned it was best for them to stay away from open flames until they could find a change of clothes.

No cars had passed by in the past hour, so Vlad felt it was finally safe to crawl out of the poor excuse for a restroom in search of a better hideout. He tapped Gregor on the shoulder, motioning him to be silent on the exit.

They treaded lightly as they pushed the creaky door open, tasting the relief of fresh air despite the fact they were still locked in the middle of the city. On their way around to the front of the building, Vlad spotted a single employee on duty, having made the unfortunate choice to take the night shift at a station with decidedly extortionate prices. It would be a simple job to break in and take anything of value. The weedy teen could never be that much of a problem.

"Alright, Gregor," Vlad instructed under his breath as they retreated around the corner to plan their attack. He fished for his pocket knife with every word. "I'll keep Greasy distracted while you break down the door. You take the cash whilst I make sure he stays quiet."

Wordlessly, Gregor nodded and _cracked _his knuckles in preparation. It would be a simple job, but not enough to add anything considerable to their stash. In their few weeks in Arendelle the brothers had managed to amass a small fortune which they had hidden in their main lair, even though that particular spot was insecure. They needed every coin they could get if they wanted to make enough to leave the country.

"On the count of three," Vlad said, flicking his knife out ready. "One. Two. Thr-…"

The distinct _smashing _of a window suddenly rang from around the corner. Seconds later there was a muffled scream followed by a near mute slashing. When the brothers span to corner, they were greeted with the surprising offer of a wad of ten dollar notes which couldn't have all come from the cash register.

Taking careful steps to accept this gift, Vlad watched as an ivory coloured figure emerged from the protection of the corner. The man (presumably) was clothed from head to toe in a Kevlar-like body suit designed to look like a regal uniform. There was a sash of deep red over a yellow breast, with a cream cravat-style layer of the same material bunched around neck. Two parallel plated triangles were stitched into the upper chest to provide protection up to the shoulders, which were capped with strange frills which could only be decorative. His gloves were melded into sleeves by two silver wrist guards, which were the exact same colour as the roman sword he clenched in one fist. A tine line of blood was painted along the blade, no doubt from the unfortunate teen in the gas station.

When Vlad looked to the face, he found an unreadable helmet much like a medieval knight might have worn. It was of a lighter weight and morphed from the suit perfectly well. There was no mouth hole, only two oval visors for the eyes.

"Gentlemen," The bizarre man said in a well-spoken, electronically modified voice. "Please take this money as a token of good faith."

Vlad glanced at Gregor, who watched the green cash like a wolf might watch its prey.

"What's in it for you?" Vlad asked back, sceptical of the good intentions.

"In it for me? Why, can't a man make a kind act for two of his fellows?" The Knight asked cordially, ignoring the blood drip onto the tarmac.

"No." Vlad simply said.

The Knight lifted his sword, appearing to inspect the stains before reluctantly sheathing it at his waist. He chuckled menacingly beneath the mask before continuing.

"Then you are quite correct, Mr Stabbington, men do not do kind acts for free." He agreed, dropping the money at their feet.

"What do you want?" The lead Stabbington asked, trying to evaluate this casual killer in front of him.

This cream coloured Knight was vastly different than what he had come to expect in Arendelle. While some bimbo in a bodysuit deluded herself into playing hero, the Knight seemed far more adept at spreading chaos rather than combatting it. However, the way he had silently slipped into the gas station and performed the crime so easily also indicated he was well versed in controlling it also. And his costume appeared heavy duty, his use of the sword well-rehearsed. This was a man ho knew what he was doing.

"Only to follow my belief that one good turn deserves another," The Knight smoothly explained, expressing himself with his hands. "I understand that you are in need of an escape from this city, if not the continent. One too many death sentences to keep you here. As it happens, I have the connections to make sure you can slip out of this place without any of the authorities being the wiser as well as provide you with the financial backing for whatever life you choose after this."

"And what do you _want_?" Vlad repeated.

Again, the Knight laughed to himself at the apparent wittiness of a standard, sceptical response.

"There is an important delivery being made to Westerguard Industries in exactly thirty-six hours. I desire its contents," He said, as if it was merely a matter of taking whatever he wanted. "The delivery will be under heavily armed guard which would make royalty jealous. It is a tricky job."

"You want us to take on this armed guard?"

"Oh, good gracious, no," The Knight went on, belittling with a nonchalant wave of an unspoilt white glove. "I shall take care of the officers with the security. All I want you to do is keep the Arendelle Vigilante busy."

Both Vlad and Gregor's eyes widened in shock at the apparently uneven demand. They did not particularly fear the Vigilante, but they were more than aware of who had made the woman's acquaintance. Both felt there was no way on Earth they would willingly face Flynn Rider for the foreseeable future.

"No deal." Vlad denied, turning to leave the scene without the money.

"Ah, but I don't think you quite understand," The Knight said with the accompaniment of a _swooshing _sword. "I always get what I want, and I can more than assure you that the pair of you will not be leaving this city alive without my help. My help comes at a cost. Do you know how easy it is to get the Police to follow a trail, lazy as they are? Especially when they're under my control."

As if to emphasise his point, a fleet of sirens suddenly wailed from all points of the compass. They were distant, but not distant enough to make the Stabbingtons comfortable. The choice before them was simple; either risk everything on the orders of a lunatic or lose everything in the same lunatic's tantrum. Seeing Flynn Rider again suddenly seemed like a much better option.

"I will keep it easy as well," The Knight promised, holding up a photograph in an immaculately white glove when they paused. "The Vigilante and on Mr Flynn Rider will be kept perfectly busy and delightfully at bay if you abduct this person. I do believe the Vigilante cares for Ms Rapunzel Engel."

* * *

**Please Review.**


	17. New Players - Part Four

**I'm so sorry, this one took even longer than I had planned. Exam pressure has suddenly exploded and I've been doing notes for the last two nights, which brings me around to a bad news, good news, possibly bad news again message. The bad news is my exams begin in a week and a half (ARGH!), and I should really be putting all my efforts into exam techniques and revision. The good news is, they're pretty evenly spaced; so I can still find time to do some writing after the first set are out of the way. The bad news, though, is that I then have six more in June in a pretty tight schedule, which means I'll have much less time to write. So, while this may seem like a very long way to explain this, I really need to limit or pause my updates for the next six weeks or so. I hate to disappoint you, and I really want to continue with this, so I may push myself to try to do one chapter over a fortnight rather than one a week. My original was to finish the Flynn Rider-arc by the time my exams came around, but there's so much more to do. But that's the way things have played out, so I hope none of you mind.**

**As for the weekly replies, a thank you to Batman1809 and Stagemanagertargaryen for the appraisals of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. When I come out of the vast expanse of exams I hope to have them feature more prominently in this little alternate universe, so I'm glad I've captured them well and I eagerly await future comments/pointers.**

**To Shadow Tiger 999, I get what you mean now. Without revealing too much, I do want Anna to have a larger role and more exploration in future chapters. I reckon you are onto something there, although it may not be what you expect. **

**To Atom King, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm keeping this story more strictly tied to Disney rather than ROTG or Dreamworks movies; so no dragons in the Berk sense. However, I do think you have good story idea there and I highly recommend you have a crack at writing it. I'll be more than happy to shamelessly advertise it if and when it published. Sorry again.**

**Finally, on a separate note to JJ12, I'll also be very excited when Dawn of Justice does come out, I'm just not sure how strong the story will be. I fear it may feel a little rushed since Wonder Woman is meant to be there as well.**

**Anyway, enough from me. Hope you all enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

An entire day passed before the Vigilantes met again. After the disaster that was their first meeting, and their subsequent agreement to form an alliance, the pair had elected to go their separate ways for the time being. Their fight across the city had unfortunately drawn the attention of the police, as Kristoff had only been able to depart his previous duties at the restaurant by alerting a squad to the location of Flynn Rider. For the good of their newfound partnership, Elsa had offered to house Flynn in her Ice Palace to avoid arrest but he had politely declined and explained his alter ego was more than capable of disappearing. However, Rider had promised to arrive at the Ice Palace, the location of which he was already aware of, at five-thirty the next afternoon.

This was, coincidentally, an exact half-hour after Elsa finished work for the day at the Noble Tower. Flynn had not explicitly mentioned her public identity again, and it was a looming threat she would like to forget. At any moment, Rider could just turn around and give her game away to the police. She at least wanted to know _his_ real name in case they had another disagreement. Of course, she had not explicitly confirmed that the Arendelle Vigilante was Elsa Noble, although she might as well have given her reaction to almost injuring Anna. It was unlikely she could play the shock off as fear of merely harming an innocent bystander.

Thus, Elsa found herself waiting in the hub of North Mount Station at the arranged time; robed as she was the night before in her blue bulletproof uniform and the mask fixed firmly against her face. Her stance was obviously on edge, as her shoulders were as rigid as her ice sculptures and her fingers tapped incessantly against the opposite palm behind her back. Kristoff waited in an easier attention stance behind her, providing both the physical and moral support she might need if Flynn randomly changed his mind on the deal. However, if Flynn arrived with a police force backing him then Kristoff would get in even more trouble and face arrest, but Elsa appreciated the action. Sven waited patiently in a dog bed which had been placed next to the door, his head resting on his front paws as he felt the tension in the room.

Olaf eagerly waited at his desk, deciding to look on the brighter side of this meeting. He already had a camera set up to 'catch the historic moment' to the heavy disapproval of Pabbie, who stared at the display pretending to be interested in the limited information available on the Stabbingtons. In the past five minutes he had read every last fact eight times and was secretly beginning to regret taking a disinterested air. He disapproved of the entire arrangement and wished he had intervened before Elsa had so readily refused Flynn reasonable request. To Pabbie, it made sense to let Rider chase after the Stabbingtons if he had experience with them. Having witnessed Elsa struggle to take down one of the convicts, he knew she wasn't ready to handle this threat. Besides, appeasing Rider may be the best way to ensure his silence. They couldn't be too careful with a man of his reputation. A reputation, it seemed, Elsa had missed out on learning about.

"Where is he?" Olaf asked when the clock ticked to five-thirty-one.

"Olaf, just wait," Elsa instructed, keeping her disguised voice without an inflection of concern. She had to appear capable of leading a team, especially in front of joking, sceptical eyes of Flynn Rider. "He'll be here."

Pabbie cleared his throat in the background, catching Elsa's attention even though she didn't turn away from the entrance. His concerns had already been voiced more than once and had been rebuffed each time. A certain level of trust had to be kept in order to make sure this alliance worked, a point of view Pabbie didn't share.

"I still think we should have more weapons available down here," Pabbie repeated, tracing a spot where a gun could be hidden behind the monitors. "Just in case someone dangerous does make it down here."

"We don't need weapons," Kristoff pointed out, feet sliding slightly on the slick ground. It was worth noting that Kristoff carried a gun and badge in his jacket at all times, making his refusal rather hypocritical. "Invaders will have trouble even standing up in this place."

"Yeah!" Olaf agreed, even though he was used to icy surfaces from his University winters in Norway. "Besides, Elsa's a walking weapon!"

Elsa had to keep herself from verbally lashing out at Olaf's well-meant statement. She wanted to believe that she wasn't a weapon, even more so since she had nearly struck Anna down. Weapons were dangerous and she didn't want to be a danger. If there was ever a time she wanted to be normal it had never been more than at this point. Should Pabbie have a breakthrough with his seemingly magical regenerative serum, Elsa thought she might just take it as soon as possible.

Behind her back, Kristoff had noticed her almost imperceptible stiffening a the comment was made offhandedly and figured out what she was thinking with reference to what Olaf had told him about the night before. He knew Elsa felt and always would feel guilty about nearly killing Anna on both occasions it had happened. Without letting her see, Kristoff shook his head at Olaf to communicate the inappropriateness of the statement. Olaf realised how his words may have been interpreted and instantly looked regretful, but couldn't voice his feelings on the matter.

It was at this point, however, that Kristoff glanced at the rear end of the Hub and spotted a sight that instantly made him fear for the security of the Ice Palace. In the intervening minutes between his supposed arrival and the present, Flynn Rider had managed to sneak his way into the deeper halls of the abandoned station and was currently waiting for them all to notice his presence. Spotting Kristoff's recognition, Flynn gave a trademark grin as the cop tapped Elsa on the shoulder.

Elsa wheeled around like lightning, her uneasiness at Flynn's near-supernatural appearances etched into her face. Similarly, Olaf gave a shriek of excitement upon spotting the visitor, while Pabbie merely grumbled under his breath.

"How did you get in?" Elsa asked, feeling the cold floor under her boots gain greater purchase as a rough frost spread. "There's only one entrance."

"Well," Flynn grinned, taking uneven steps to grab hold of the display. It seemed his own boots were incredibly unstable on the ice, a factor her teammate had corrected early on with specially spiked shoes. "I think you'll find the Arendelle Metro has thirty nine stations. All I had to do was find another abandoned station and walk down the tracks."

Olaf literally squealed under the oppressive joy he had seeing two vigilantes in the same room.

"But South Mount's three miles away," Kristoff pointed out, astounded at the distance travelled underground _on foot_. "That's stupidly dangerous! Did you even think about that?"

"Yeah," Flynn said, as if the perils of tight tunnels were akin to crossing a street. "Wasn't too bad, but it was cold. I wouldn't recommend it."

"I think it would be wise to barricade the surrounding tunnels, in that case." Pabbie recommended, although Elsa had already added it to her mental checklist.

"Might be better, wouldn't want people stealing all your suits," Flynn added, even though he had no place in such a discussion. "While we're on the subject, do you have any of those spare? 'Cause I could really use one of those in Corona. I'll tell ya, some situations get really sticky and a waistcoat isn't really thick enough for bullets."

He theatrically gestured towards the suit-clad mannequin as an example of the numerous spare costumes; all of which, as it happened, were designed for women. It was during this motion Elsa noticed that Flynn could move his left arm freely in all directions but he made more of a pained effort to drag the right one in parallel. For only a second did he express the discomfort of moving his shoulder, but it was there nonetheless.

"You're injured." She stated, critical of his crime fighting capabilities if he was incapable of full movement.

Without thinking about it, he rolled his right shoulder and sharply sucked in air through his teeth when it reached the sore spot.

"Thanks to you," He, somewhat spitefully, responded. "Because you just _had_ to fling me off a building and send me swinging into a brick wall."

"Well, you just _had _to grab hold of a wire and live." Kristoff drily returned, keeping his guard as he watched the visitor. Olaf giggled in the background.

Flynn also gave a short, sarcastic laugh before asking; "Who is this guy?"

"That doesn't matter," Pabbie interjected, striding to stand over Flynn despite being much shorter than him. "We should get to business, that way we can catch the Stabbingtons and this will all be over."

Flynn cocked an eyebrow in Elsa's direction.

"Who's _this _guy?" He asked while fishing through the pouches on his belt and pulling out a memory card. "Do you have a port for this?"

Olaf called like a monkey as he pointed towards the edge of the wall-mounted monitors, receiving a perturbed look from Flynn. Without addressing the odd behaviour, he slid over to the far wall. A moment later he found the plug for the card and within a minute more information than had previously been gathered spilled onto the screen.

As it turned out, Flynn had willingly provided them with everything he had accrued on the Stabbingtons for as long as he had known, dating all the way back to 2010. Among the files were pictures of weapons, mugshots and various crime scenes across the perpetually sunny city of Corona. He had been right. The path of destruction the twins had wrecked in their wake was far greater than anything Elsa was prepared to deal with. Storefronts had been blasted open, bodies had been left piled in the gutters and there was a still of the Stabbingtons, with a pixelated accomplice, stealing a crown from the Corona Museum. In comparison to the damage they had caused in their home city, Arendelle's attacks had been rather benign.

There was one, however, which did mention Arendelle quite heavily. Yesterday's article featuring Flynn and the Arendelle Vigilante was plastered alongside a much later piece concerning a break-in and murder at a gas station. A third picture of the same station was taken from a CCTV recording, where the distinct shapes of Vlad and Gregor could be spotted hulking in the shadows.

"You're very… Comprehensive." Elsa neutrally complimented, leaning in closer to reader the finer print on the news articles.

"It's a hobby," Flynn brushed off, uneasily stepping to stand next to her. "A really weird, possibly stalkerish hobby."

"This is all well and good," Kristoff said, remaining guard with Sven by his side. "But that doesn't help us track them down."

For a moment it looked almost as if Flynn was sizing Kristoff up, like he might break out into a brawl at any second. However, he soon remembered his disadvantage with the floor and decided to put up with company. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Flynn Rider did not have a team.

"This is background, scene setting, getting to know them," Flynn explained in much the same way he would explain it to a child. "The Stabbingtons have a long history and if you want to get them, you have to get inside their heads."

"Tell me more." Olaf commented, rather absentmindedly, from his chair.

Flynn glanced at him confused, before shaking it off and summing up his experiences with the twins.

"Basically, they were brought up in the mountains near Corona; real mean Dad and a mother who must have been the size of a house if she gave birth to those brutes. Low income, family reputation which cut them off from local communities, no formal education, lots of booze; the works. When they're fifteen, their Mom dies from a deadly combination of a cigarette and gasoline. When they're twenty, their Dad goes in much the same way. I still think they killed him, but Chief Maximus never looked into.

"After that; they move to Corona and start selling their labour as hired muscle, then mercenaries. There's a whole underground black market they got wrapped up in and to pay off some debts they committed arson. They got their first life sentence because twelve people died, although most of them were murderers themselves."

Kristoff followed the rough timeline of events to the described point, which was very early in the string of damage they'd done.

"They escaped after two months?" Kristoff was gobsmacked, and lost all surprise he had held up to this point on their most recent escape.

"Yeah, that's Corona prisons for ya," Flynn dismissed. "Maximus will put you away but he's not very good at keeping you in. He's like that guy from the French musical, could never hold on to Hugh Jackman. What's his name?"

"Inspector Javert." Elsa supplied, keen to move on with the history lesson.

"Anyway, the death toll builds after that. A cycle emerges of them going to prison and getting out not long afterwards, no matter the measures. Pretty soon a judge gives them the chair, but he's killed before they can be fried. That's where I come in, and a new cycle starts! It was my first night when I took Gregor's eye out. Complete accident. Vlad passed me his sword, drugs were involved, and I went a little nutty," He tried to laugh the serious incident off even though he could not hide the fact he wasn't fully over the trauma. "But I become their number one enemy. A real _Tom and Jerry_ routine until their finally under so many death sentences that they can only flee the state. This was a month ago."

"So what are they doing in Arendelle?" Olaf asked, still having not let his eyes wander from the exchanges between Flynn and Elsa.

"I _think_," Flynn started, pointing to the string of crimes they had committed in the last few weeks. "They're trying to get out of the country, over the border and across the North until they can hide in Russia or something like that. Hence the quitter crimes; they need to get fake passports and find someone willing to take them away."

"But what about last night?" Elsa questioned, analysing the gas station murder. "Would they really kill that kid on camera if they want to stay unknown?"

"That's the weird part of last night," Flynn admitted, pointing to the date index on the camera still. "The crime occurred at eight minutes past midnight, according to the clock on the cash register, but the last image of them was at seven minutes past. They didn't break the camera and they certainly don't have the skill to hack the systems."

"So… What?" Kristoff asked, puzzled by the assumptions. "Did the camera just turn off by itself?"

It was at this point that Pabbie wedged himself back into the conversation.

"Or is that someone has control over the camera systems in Arendelle?" He thought out loud. "Someone went to quite a bit of trouble if they wanted to hide two murderers killing again. Could they have found an ally somewhere in the city?

"But who has access to the city's security?" Olaf asked, only to have his face drain when all present slowly and sceptically turned to study him. He paused only briefly before denying involvement: "It's not me!"

"Whoever it is," Flynn went on, although he still made a point to intimidate Olaf with a steady glare. "They're the reason the Stabbingtons were spotted near the clubs just a few hours ago. Evidently they've been persuaded to change their patterns."

All was quiet for a few minutes as the Arendelle team separately processed the information. They were slowly coming to realise there might be something bigger going on in the city, although none of them said it. It was a terrifying thought to think there could be a common root of all the crime, a guiding force to combat. But at the same time, it made Elsa entertain the idea of being able to take out the head and rid the city of the rest of the major, coordinated attacks.

"Hang on," Kristoff said after a long enough time had passed. "You went through all _that_, just to tell us the Stabbingtons are a couple of miles away?"

"_Yes_," Flynn said as if it were obvious. "But like I said, I was helping you understand them more."

"You better go then," Pabbie instructed, completely ignoring Flynn's quips and addressing Elsa. "I'm certain with your combined… qualities you will have them captured by midnight."

"I'm glad someone has confidence in this alliance." Kristoff mumbled, striding away to watch the various camera feeds Olaf had brought up of the nearest clubs, _Sauna_ among them.

Wordlessly Elsa marched to the exit of the Ice palace, motioning for Flynn Rider to follow. He slipped and slid across the floor after her, rolling his shoulder gingerly every few moments as he nearly lost balance several times. Both were well aware of the doubtful gazes Pabbie and Kristoff sent them, although Flynn chose to ignore them. He also chose to look away from what appeared to be an expression of complete adoration from Olaf.

"So, where are we going? Don't you have a trademark vehicle to run around on?" Flynn asked as they disappeared into the dark hallways of the Metro.

"I keep my bike in an old garage around the corner." Elsa simply answered, mentally preparing herself for an evening on the streets. She normally did this in silence, allowing her to count all the out of the way vantage points in whichever part of the city she was going to patrol. Unfortunately, Flynn didn't seem to have the same ritual.

"Do I get a bike?" He questioned cheekily, perhaps thinking that a certain wealthy young woman had bought another ride for the duo to travel around on.

They reached the mouth of the tunnels at this point, the warm but weak light filtering lazily down onto the pavements. It was a surprisingly humid day for Arendelle and it made the air oppressive for most people. Of course, Elsa was exempt from the close heat due to her biological anomalies and Flynn was acclimated to more temperate weather, so they were able to move without quickly growing fatigued under their thicker clothing, unlike every other citizen. Elsa hoped this might give them an advantage if they had to give chase at any point.

"No," She said, turning the corner for the empty garage. "You get a side car. Then we can stick together. And no, you can't drive either."

Flynn held back his disappointment on the threshold of the garage, waiting for Elsa to start the motor bike and blue up beside him. The sidecar was a bit cramped, and looked rusted in a few places, but it would do for the evening.

"Does the pale guy fancy me or something?" He asked as he climbed into creaky seat.

* * *

Since the night before, Anna had been uncharacteristically quiet and Rapunzel was beginning to worry. All day, the redhead had just sat at the island counter; either working on her MacBook or taking messy notes in a rapidly filling notebook. She had barely spoken at all, leaving Rapunzel to entertain herself. The brunette got the feeling Anna was not in the mood to be disturbed, so she had kept to her room where she doodled on the sketchpad she had brought with her or watching television very quietly. Every move, or even every slight noise, Rapunzel made had her fearing Anna would explode in the anger and frustration she was obviously harbouring. It was nearly no different to spending a bad day with Gothel.

Internally, Rapunzel partially felt Anna's behaviour was unreasonable. The situation in the alley had been truly dangerous and if it hadn't been for her timely intervention, her cousin would currently be nursing a skewer wound from the violent action of a most likely unwise choice of role model. Even Flynn Rider, who was noted for his brawling in Corona, had agreed they should not be walking in on a confrontation and wisely sent them away. It was this act which had sent Anna spiralling into anger, rather than Rapunzel pushing her out the way of an icicle. But Rapunzel had also been a second voice which dragged Anna from her longed-for meeting, and so had gained the focus of this restrained annoyance. Unfortunately.

She hoped that they're planned (if legally dubious) visit to _Sauna _later that evening would raise Anna's spirits. Especially if Hans was there to cheer Anna up. Rapunzel still wasn't certain of how she felt about Hans as a person, but would willingly take any way to clear the tension away. And it seemed a night of dancing and drinking with Anna's boyfriend was the best way to fix this.

Or so it seemed, until after hours of silence Anna's phone began ringing. It was a personalised tone which echoed in the kitchen for a few minutes before Anna finally answered. Rapunzel could only listen from her spot on the sofa to the following, disappointing conversation.

"Hey Babe." Anna chirpily greeted, sounding more like her usual self. But Rapunzel couldn't help but notice that even when Anna referred to Hans, presumably, with a pet name she made it sound not quite right. Almost like she wanted to believe this was a strong relationship even though she felt something different.

Anna listened intently for a while, before disappointedly saying: "Oh crap. Are you sure you can't come?"

Rapunzel unconsciously leaned closer to the conversation, fearing that the phone call was detrimental to her plan to clear with her cousin. She doubted she could take much more of this awkward stillness before either Anna lost her cool or Rapunzel had to apologise for something she felt she was completely justified for.

"Well, I can't go with just her, can I?" Anna responded to some unknown suggestion in a hushed tone. "We're both underage and she'll think that a fire will start or the roof will cave in or some guy will try to kidnap her or something."

It wasn't hard to figure out who Anna was talking about, unless the drinking age had suddenly jumped up several years and Elsa was now unable to purchase alcohol. Rapunzel was hurt that her cousin, whom had been her closest friend and relative up to this point spoke about her anxieties so flippantly. The younger girl could recognise that her view of the world was skewed by everything Gothel had told her over the years as well as her nigh-on isolation from any social setting. But it was as if her feelings were any less valid, nor was she going to act on her concerns. She trusted Anna. And this was just Anna being angry about the night before.

"Alright, well, call me if you get out early. I guess we'll just be here," Anna said, followed by a mumbled 'love you' before she put the phone down.

Silence returned.

This oppressive, falsified calm was beginning to get to Rapunzel. The clock was ticking unnaturally loud in the background, serving only to make her more agitated as she fidgeted with her sleeve. Her mind span through all the possibilities of Anna's bad mood, ranging from being kicked out to a humiliated return to Corona. There had still been no word from her parents, which only made her fear that they were angry at her disappearance. Her position didn't seem very secure at the moment.

Unable to stand the muteness anymore, Rapunzel tiptoed to the entrance of the kitchen and quietly spied Anna writing furiously from an internet article. Several sheets of paper around her depicted maps of Arendelle, with pins dropped in apparently random places to mark locations. Anna did not look up from her work when Rapunzel spoke.

"Was that Hans?" Rapunzel asked, hanging in the shadows just beyond the light of the kitchen.

"Yep." Anna replied, closing her MacBook and staring to drawn lines between the pins on the map.

"What did he say?"

"He's got a conference call from his parents, he can't make it tonight and I said we were staying in," Anna rapidly listed, barely glancing away from the pages for a second.

"Okay," Rapunzel said, twisting one toe into the wooden flooring. She really did not like the tension, and could not take this unknown fate any longer. "Are- Are you mad at me?"

Anna didn't say a thing, which Rapunzel took as an affirmative.

"Is it about last night?" Rapunzel tried again, still to no response. "Is it because you didn't get to meet the Vigilante?"

Like lightening, Anna slammed her pencil down into marble counter. The sudden movement caught Rapunzel off-guard, making her jump. This was the only sudden movement the redhead made, as she elected to instead sit very calmly in her seat and twirl the pencil on the counter in front of her. Slowly, Rapunzel shook off her surprise. Wondering whether she should press the matter further, she had nearly spoken by the time Anna admitted her problem.

"I'm just… annoyed with everyone," She said, a childishly low voice. "I'm annoyed with Flynn Rider for turning me away. I'm annoyed with Hans for not being able to come out tonight. And I'm really annoyed that you didn't support me when I needed it."

Rapunzel briefly registered that she had been right. The problem did, partially, lie with her, although not in the way she imagined. She didn't know how to respond and ended up moving her lips with no actual sound coming out like a muted television. Fortunately, Anna saw that she needed to elaborate.

"I showed you something I'd been keeping very secret, even from Elsa," Anna went on, never dropping her fiery gaze from Rapunzel's form. "You said you understood that it was my 'dream'. But when I really needed it, when the Vigilante was literally ten metres away, you backed out. Rapunzel, I understand if you're not comfortable in the city. I understand you didn't want to be there, in that alley. Hell, I wouldn't have minded if you waited at _Oaken's _while I went after them. But your… Fear of anything even remotely dangerous gave Rider all the justification he needed to push us both away."

"But… But…" Rapunzel stammered, trying to locate any suitable, reasonable response from inside the jumbled mess that was suddenly her head. "But…"

Anna had realised her own harshness during her rant. Her stony glare softened momentarily, but she felt she had to say what needed to be said now. It was something Rapunzel had to hear.

"One day, you're going to have to get over this mad idea the world is out to get you," Anna explained, voice calmer than it had been previously. "Not everyone in this city wants to hurt everyone else. I thought that was why you came to Arendelle in the first place, to prove yourself wrong."

With that, Anna got up from the counter; collected her work, and retreated into her own room to find some form of liberty from the oppressive atmosphere in the rest of the apartment. This left Rapunzel to think over what she had just been told.

Yes, she had come to Arendelle to show everyone in her life she could cope with being out of her comfort zone. But surely Anna understood this would be a slow process. People simply can't throw off a lifetime of conditioned negative beliefs in order to put themselves in an obviously dangerous situation. It would take time. Baby steps. Nothing too big, too fast.

Unless, she mused, that was exactly how people were meant to do it. She truly had no idea how to free herself of every little exaggeration Gothel had fed her. Maybe she was meant to throw herself in the deep end. After all, getting around a city by herself couldn't be too difficult. Getting the train had been easy, walking through the streets was just the next logical step. From this perspective it really didn't seem too difficult Was this why Anna was so incredulous about her nervousness yesterday? Anna had always been able to put herself in new situations without any of this anxiety. And if Anna had been doing that since she was fifteen, then Rapunzel couldn't see any reason why it would be difficult for her at seventeen.

A hare brained scheme, by her standards, suddenly sparked in the disarray of her thoughts. Rapunzel wanted to prove to herself, her family and now Anna that she could manage herself, alone in the big city. The most obvious thing to do would be to dive into the wildest scene imaginable and wash off the quiet, scolding voice in her head which told her being in Arendelle was a bad idea. Only one place came to mind when she thought about it, and she already roughly knew where it was.

So without really stopping to think, Rapunzel treaded lightly into the guest room and dug out everything she'd need to pass as the average party-goer. She put on the lowest cut shirt she had brought and a pair of paint-spattered short shorts in the hopes it might help her 'persuade' her way to where she wanted to go, even though to wear such clothes in public would make her uncomfortable. The fake ID Anna had mocked up for her was slipped into her pocket, held tight against her phone case. She also slipped a wad of banknotes into the other pocket, which would be more than enough to finance her for a few hours. Ideally, that would be all she needed to get by tonight, and surely no one would look too closely at the details.

Once she was happy with her older appearance, including a little artful highlighting with make-up, Rapunzel found herself tiptoeing to the front door. She made sure to avoid any squeaky floorboards, of which there were few, to prevent Anna from being alerted to her departure. Thankfully no noise was loud enough to raw her cousin into the hallway, so Rapunzel was able to quietly shut the door behind her before she began racing down the building to find a cab.

* * *

Elsa stared down through the skylight, trying to determine which undulating fluorescent blobs were male and which were female. This was the closest she had ever been to entering a club, although she couldn't help but feel the avoidance had been a wise choice given she could hear the music clearly from two buildings over and the lights beaming out of the limited window space reduced her to squinting after the first, cursory glance. She would never understand how jumping up and down to a mangled remix of a song in a hot, crowded room qualified as a 'good night'. Especially when serial killers could so easily merge into the indistinguishable mix.

"Spotted them yet?" Flynn asked from his vantage point on the other side of the skylight. He appeared to be having similar problems in noticing the finer details of the moving mess of people underneath them, although his synchronised foot tapping to the music betrayed his enjoyment of the cub scene.

"No chance," Elsa replied, holding her hand in front of her eyes when a spotlight swung wildly in her direction then back onto the crowd. "Olaf, can you see them?"

"_I definitely saw them enter twenty minutes ago!" _He cheerily answered, humming what was apparently a Katy Perry song with the discordant thumping of the DJ. "_They're not in the bathrooms, the cloakrooms or in a private room, so they should be in the main club. The eyepatch one is wearing a hat over his face, if that helps."_

That particular description did not help Elsa in the slightest. Not when she was finding it difficult to identify a head over a balloon.

"Why would they go to a club, anyway?" She asked, leaning back for a moment to relieve the pressure on her back. "Surely if they wanted to hide, they'd stick to an abandoned warehouse or something similar?"

"They could be after something," Flynn pointed out, pressing his face to the glass in an attempt to see more clearly. "That's mainly why they leave the house. But I don't know what they'll find in a nightclub. It's too chaotic for them to have a hostage situation. Of course, it would help if I could freakin' see anything!"

"There'll be emergency lighting, right?" Elsa questioned, an idea sparking to her. It was risky, and might expose their presence, but it would allow them to spot the Stabbington Brothers much more quickly than this nightmare of pulsating light and people.

Flynn gave some thought to this question, then nodded.

"In case of a fire or a blackout or something," He agreed, catching onto her plan when he considered the implications. "But what are we going to do? Create an emergency? They're stupid, but Vlad will figure it out pretty quickly."

"God, no. We're not going to anything," Elsa assured, circling the skylight like a hawk might circle its hunting ground. "Olaf? Can you hack the power supply? Turn everything off for a minute, make it look like an electrical fault."

"_Okey-dokey!"_ Olaf answered, typing away at his keyboard.

Rolling his aching shoulder, Flynn kept pace with Elsa on the opposite side of the skylight to maximise their vision. They would probably only get a few minutes, perhaps only seconds, so their focus was integral. It would be all too easy for the Stabbingtons to slip by under the radar. Thankfully, Kristoff was in civilian guise on the street outside the club, keeping look out from the queue. If he spotted them leaving, he would notify them immediately.

It just so happened it was at this moment that he checked in.

"_As far as I know, they're still in there." _Kristoff whispered into his microphone, trying to keep public attention away from his conversation.

"How far away are you?" Elsa asked, aware the crowds for this particular club could be vast. Kristoff may be too far away to accurately identify the Stabbingtons, hard though that was.

"_About fifty-five feet,"_ He estimated. "_But I'm getting closer by about three feet every twenty minutes. This is crazy. Why do so many people go at once?"_

"You're not actually trying to get in there, Kristoff, you're just keeping look out." Elsa reminded him, watching Flynn raise an eyebrow at her half of the conversation. It was apparent that he internally ridiculed the very idea of a team.

"_I know, it's just," _Kristoff said, exasperated by his situation. "_This girl has literally just walked into the club from out of a cab. All she had to do was practically flash the bouncer and throw money at him. I doubt she's even eighteen, let alone old enough to drink_."

Elsa shook her head at the thought, almost despondent over the privilege this girl apparently took advantage of. But then she remembered her entire family was part of this privilege and could take solace in the fact that not every rich teenager swanned about like they owned the place. Most of the people she had met did, particularly a boy called Kuzco who had spent a single term at University with her, but there were those like Anna and Rapunzel who would never manipulate events using their wealth to illegally enter a club. Well, Rapunzel wouldn't. Anna had gone a few times during Elsa's four-year absence.

"You any good at _Where's Waldo?" _Flynn asked while they waited for Olaf to drop the lights. "I'm the king of _Where's Waldo. _I've only met one person who could outdo me."

"Who was that?" Elsa politely inquired, humouring the Corona Vigilante. He wasn't actually so bad, especially as he knew what was important in the pursuit of a case.

"Merida, although she was just showing off. I swear it was chance she got Waldo with that arrow." Flynn half-rambled, eyes fixed on the skylight as he continued to circle it.

She was just about to ask exactly who this Merida was, but then Olaf gave her notice of his achievement. A second later the vibrant neon colours of the club shut off into pitch black, while the silence that crashed down was only broken by the rush of gasps and shrieks. Almost as quickly as the darkness enclosed the space, a damp illumination revealed the crowds in far more detail than the roaming lights could. Heads span around, staring at the bronze coloured walls in search of an answer to the turn of events.

"_I can only give you about two minutes," _Olaf instructed. "_If you spot them before then, tell me."_

Wordlessly, the vigilantes began methodically examining every person they could spot. It was still difficult work, as the partygoers wouldn't stop moving, but at least this time Elsa could tell a brunette woman from a blond man. Unfortunately, the huddled crowds began shifting towards the exits with complaints echoing. However, while this could have easily masked the giant twins, the parting people actually marked them out. Vlad and Gregor leant against the bar, one watching the confusion whilst the other stared intently at the opposite end of the counter, where a girl was currently arguing with a bartender to buy a drink.

It was this person that Elsa was inevitably drawn to, as, when the girl looked around at the interrupted party, she instantly recognised the socially inept expression of Rapunzel. What she was doing there, Elsa couldn't fathom, but she was horrified that her younger cousin was in a club. In a club, alone. In a club, alone, with a serial killer watching her like a cat ready to pounce. When Rapunzel continued glancing around her, her eyes briefly travelled up to the skylight. Elsa instinctively stepped back.

"Olaf, we got them." Elsa choked, her mouth suddenly dry. Seconds later the lights went down and the thumping music returned.

"Where are they?" Flynn intently asked, practically leaping to her side of the glass in order to squint into the blinding darkness.

Elsa's breathing grew heavier, and she unwittingly held Flynn back with a cold hand against his injured arm. He looked at the pale hand against his golden forearm, recognizing this was the first time he had actually seen her _touch _someone. And he could see why, as her skin was freezing on contact.

"What is it?" He questioned, realizing something must have gone wrong for her.

"My cousin's in there," Elsa gasped, trying to regulate her breath so that she may be of some use. "The Stabbingtons are watching her. We need to get her out of there before we do anything else."

"Alright," Flynn instantly agreed, knowing how important the safety of her family was to the Arendelle Vigilante. Besides, he also knew which cousin she was talking about and he happened to be quite fond of the Coronan from their brief meeting. "So just go in, and lead her out."

"I can't," Elsa argued, having already thought through all her choices. "If I go in there dressed like this, the Stabbingtons will realise we're after them and probably hurt her or escape, or both. And I don't have a change of clothes, so there's no chance I can get in as… A civilian."

"Do you actually wear anything under that suit?" Flynn incredulously asked, entertaining his errant thoughts for a moment before realising what had to be done. If neither the Arendelle Vigilante nor her alter ego could go in there, then Flynn Rider couldn't for the same reason. Kristoff was still stuck outside the club, unable to force his way in. So that left only one course of action for them. "They'll have a lost and found in there, right? Because it's time for Elsa Noble to meet Eugene Fitzherbert."

* * *

Rapunzel sighed into her hand as the bartender one again insisted, quite correctly, that she did not look old enough to be served alcohol. He couldn't find a flaw with her fake driver's license, proving how worryingly commendable Hans was in procuring false documents. It made her wonder what kind of connections he had to be able to find a fake ID for her within two days of meeting her.

So far her adventure into _Sauna _had been a major disappointment. Never in her life had she felt more objectified and she really wished she had chosen a different shirt now. The bouncer on the doors had practically leered at her, allowing Rapunzel entry over everyone who had waited patiently because she showed slightly more skin than other people. Similarly, at least three guys in their mid-late twenties had tried to catch her eye as she absorbed the uncomfortable setting and even now, one giant of a man was watching her from the other end of the bar. It was quite frankly terrifying.

The room was too dark, the drink exuberantly expensive and the music as so loud Rapunzel was convinced she would suffer major hearing loss by the time she left. But if this was what normal people did, so be it. It had all been manageable so far.

"I'm sorry Miss, but you just don't look old enough to be served here." The Bartender repeated, declining her order for the fourth time.

"But I am," She insisted none too convincingly. In all honesty, she didn't even want the drink. In fact, she wasn't even sure what she was doing anymore. This all seemed like a really bad idea now, even if she had managed it this far. "Look, my birthday is November 24th, 1993."

Her birthday was actually November 24th, 1998, but she had had the foresight to memorise the fake date in case she had to 'prove' it was genuine. The bartender still didn't budge on the matter, and she was about to turn away when she heard a strangely familiar voice speak loudly from directly beside her.

"Two shots of your fanciest vodka," The handsome man who Rapunzel recognised after a moment of name-searching as Eugene Fitzherbert said. "And two beers. Also fancy. I'm talking out of a crystal bottle, made by blind monks fancy."

Surprised by his reappearance in the dark, crowded confines of _Sauna_, Rapunzel met his sly, cheeky eyes wearily if also knowingly. It was relaxing to find someone she knew, if only for a few hours on a quiet train journey. She did find it strange, however, that Eugene was currently dressed in a _Minnesota Vikings_ jersey which was at least three sizes too big for him and a pair of almost excruciatingly tight jeans which were frayed on the legs when everyone else had dressed to the very best. By the state of said clothing Rapunzel might have been led to believe he had just pulled the clothing out of a bin, particularly as there was a strange smell she couldn't put her finger on in the vicinity of them. However, on closer inspection and the more she watched his smooth movements, she became increasingly convinced she had seen him somewhere else in the last few days as well. His voice was certainly familiar, although she remembered it sounding harsher for some reason.

Her reverie was broken when he slid one of the shots across the bar towards her while he dropped a number of large bills on the counter.

"On me," He encouraged, _clinking_ their shot glasses together before downing his vodka. The face he pulled spoke wonders for the potency of the drink. "Or on my very wealthy friend. Glad she lent me the money for that."

"So you caught up with your friends, then?" Rapunzel asked back, poking the strong-smelling liquid which looked like regular water.

"Well, this is a new friend," Eugene commented, before pausing. "I mean like an actual friend. I didn't sleep with her."

Rapunzel pulled an alarmed face at his needless clarification. If he had brought up the bedroom this early in their impromptu reunion, she could only wonder what was on his mind. Especially when he was talking to her. While she wearing _this _shirt.

"Why are you telling me that?" She unsurely wondered, unconsciously taking a small step away from him.

Eugene didn't respond straight away, but instead seemed to be focusing his attention on something behind her. Rapunzel glanced around, trying to find what may be worrying or prompting him to continue talking to her. All she could see was a crowd of dancing people, although the two giants in the corner were still watching her. Upon realising Eugene may know these people, Rapunzel instantly grew more agitated.

"What? Oh, no reason," Eugene looked confused at the fact he had clarified his relation to the unknown friend, although his eyes briefly flicked upwards to a skylight. "So how were your cousins? Are you here with them?"

"No," Rapunzel asked slowly, realising she probably shouldn't have told him that. Neither Elsa nor Anna knew where she was, and if Eugene turned out to be less than benevolent they would have no way of helping her when she needed it. "But they're nearby. They're practically watching over me."

Once again, Eugene's eyes swivelled to the skylight.

"Yeah, they really are," He muttered, before breaking into a more scolding tone. "Well, while I may buy you I drink, I doubt you're of legal age for… Any of this!" To illustrate his point, he waved his beer bottle around him then took a long swig. "Listen, I may not have any right saying this, but you're not comfortable here, are you?"

Growing more unnerved by the minute, and taking another step back, Rapunzel shook her head.

"Alright, well," Eugene went on, glancing to behind her again while rolling his right shoulder. "I'd suggest you go outside, get a cab, go home and come back when you're old enough. Come on, I'll help you find a ride."

He tried to reach for her arm, but she instinctively pulled away as his finger began to curl around her wrist. Eugene looked surprised as he stepped towards her again, although she continued retreating away from him, no matter the genuine expression in his eyes. Rapunzel could only watch him fearfully, her conditioned fears getting the better of her.

"Excuse me, Miss," A gruff voice boomed from behind her. "Is this guy bothering you?"

Rapunzel wheeled around to meet the redheaded giant who had been watching her previously. He towered over her, to the point where was closer to looking under his armpit rather than over his shoulder. As he had been previously, the giant was flanked by his one-eyed brother, who watched Eugene with a hardened look. Rapunzel suddenly felt very locked in, as the trio managed to keep her against the bar in a position she couldn't easily weasel out of. In her panicked search for escape, she couldn't help but notice a glimmer of sparkly blue at the top of the skylight.

"Gregor," The giant said to his cohort without waiting for her answer. "Let's help out our new friend, show this guy out."

The eye-patched twin, apparently called Gregor, lunged forward. With a hard grip on both shoulders, he lifted Eugene clear off the ground while giving the most sinister of grins.

"Fellas," Eugene said, somewhat nervously. "Surely we can settle this another way. I mean, we don't want my friend to get involved, do we?"

With that, Eugene drew up his half empty beer bottle and smashed it over Gregor's head. Grunting from the pain, the giant immediately dropped Eugene; who stumbled onto his feet and then punched Gregor in the lower ribs as well as under the jaw. Unfortunately, his small trousers restricted him from kicking Gregor in the hip, as had been his intention, and he moved slow enough for his adversary to grab his foot. With a simple twist, Eugene was flipped onto the bar as Gregor reached for his throat.

Whilst this was happening, the first twin grabbed hold of Rapunzel and attempted to drag her away. Chaos had broken out when the crowds realised a bar fight had started, meaning almost none of them noticed as the brunette was pulled across the floor against her will. Rapunzel tried to scream for help, but the redhead clamped a giant hand over her mouth to silence her. His tree-branch arm also wedged one arm against her body, reducing her ability to grab hold of anyone who could help her. Sadly, all the other patrons of the club were blind to her struggle as they focussed solely on the attack taking place at the bar. Internally, Rapunzel prayed to any and all Gods who would answer her in the hopes assistance would come for her.

Then there was the distinct _shattering_ of glass and little crystal shards sprinkled on the gathered spectators. A pile of snow materialised in the cleared area of the floor, onto which dropped the instantly recognisable figure of the Arendelle Vigilante. Despite most of her face being hidden beneath the pronged mask, it was obvious the Vigilante was furious with the events. A great collective gasp, followed by a few screams spread through the crowds. The music finally stopped, the lights went up and an alarm blared from the speakers. Then everyone began rushing to the exits in a dash to save themselves from the supposedly threatening ice woman.

Flicking her hand, she sent a gale force of wind over the bar area which threw Gregor away from Eugene. Pausing only to refill his lungs with air, Eugene flung himself back into the fight to make sure Gregor was kept away in the thinning crowds.

The Vigilante, on the other hand, glided like a storm towards the remaining brother and Rapunzel. Parallel walls of ice built up around them, barring them from the crowds so that no one else could get in the way. Police sirens could already be heard beyond the walls of the club.

"Let her go, Vlad." The Vigilante commanded, demonstrating her command of the situation by clicking her fingers and creating a long, sharp spike in the frozen walls which slashed Vlad's lower jaw.

A thin trickle of blood spilled from his face, a few drops falling down onto Rapunzel's hair. He didn't wince at the sharp pain, but instead casually grinned as he pulled a gun from the waistband of his trousers and placed the barrel against Rapunzel's head. The safety was audibly _clicked_ off.

"I don't think so," He said, drawing the Vigilante's attention to the weapon trained on the young woman. "Move any closer, and I'll blow her head off."

The Vigilante briefly raised her hand again as if she was going to crush him under her mighty powers, but then, to Rapunzel's horror, she dropped her hand in a manner of swift defeat.

None of them noticed the brawl which continued behind the Vigilante, as Eugene attempted to tackle Gregor to the ground in an unsuccessful manner. Using his weight as an advantage, Gregor dropped on Eugene to force his foe onto the cold floor, then rolled off and strongly kicked him in the side. Eugene groaned, but dragged himself up again. His attempts to crack Gregor's ribs fell pathetically short as his right arm lacked the force required to hold him off. Noticing this, Gregor grabbed his forearm, twisted it behind his back and then grabbed a hold of the remaining beer bottle on the top of the bar. The glass was unceremoniously smacked against the side of Eugene's head; sending him spiralling into unconsciousness as he was dropped onto the floor.

Gregor then turned, caught his brother's eye and silently trod to behind the Vigilante.

When she lifted her arms again to renew her attack, Gregor picked her up from the waist. Vlad trained the gun on her upper torso, and fired twice at her chest to where the heart would roughly be. Rapunzel noticed that no puncture was actually made, but the impacts were enough to injure the Vigilante to the point she didn't react quickly enough when Gregor flung her over his shoulder to land atop Eugene. She didn't move again.

"Don't follow us." Vlad instructed, resuming his retreat with the support of Gregor.

Unable to stop her captors now, Rapunzel gave up resisting and simply allowed the twins to drag her to the exit. Police sirens rung through the night-time air, echoing from a very close source, but they were cut off when Rapunzel was locked in the back of darkened, cell like truck. She didn't know where she was going, and she didn't know how to get out. All she could do was sit against the vibrating wall of the vehicle and wish she had never left Anna's apartment.

* * *

**Hate to leave it like this.**

**Please Review.**


	18. New Players - Part Five

**So… This is awkward. Been a while, and I'm really sorry about that. But luckily I'm now half-way through my exams and felt it was time to post a new chapter.** **Sadly, I haven't had the time to work on this chapter for very long, which I'm bit upset about because this is one of those episode climax scenes (although *spoiler alert* it does extend into the next chapter). Therefore, there may be parts where you feel I'm skimped on detail or narrative, but please know that it's not just because I'm lazy. I have had a lot of stuff to get on with, so this will be one of those chapters I re-check at a later date. As always, the integral stuff is there, I promise you. **

**As responses go, I can proudly tell Batman1809 and JJ12 (as well as all other readers) that this is the chapter where the Vigilante's name will debut. To be honest, I was getting tired of writing 'the Arendelle Vigilante' so much and it was the plan to bring in a proper title in this chapter anyway. On an unrelated note, to Batman, I agree about clubs. I swear people only go because they want to be deaf by their mid-twenties. **

**To Toa Aerrow, part of my grand plan does involve Wreck-It Ralph and you may spot a minor reference in this chapter if you look closely. I'm sure there will be an appearance in some form at some point in the future. As for BH6, I have to admit I haven't seen it yet, although I picked up a DVD copy today and I'll try to work it in. And Bolt, well, I don't think any of the super-powered dog thing will work very well in the story narrative. However, there are more ways for characters to appear.**

**Lastly, to shadowtiger999, request noted and followed on. The White Knight will be making an appearance in this chapter and hopefully I can fix the bizarre antler idea you have. It sounds funky, though. If Kristoff ever becomes a superhero I may have to borrow that vision. **

**Hope it's all going well with my readers and hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

An indeterminable amount of time later, Eugene Fitzherbert awoke with a hiss of pain. The bright, artificial light of the station stabbed into his sleep-bleary eyes relentlessly and the back of his head throbbed along the portion of scalp which had been smashed with a full beer bottle. It took him a few moments to remember what had happened to bring him up to this point, a feeling which he felt he was too familiar with for a man his age. In all the five years he'd been fighting brawlers and criminals, there had not been a single month when he hadn't been knocked unconscious one way or another. But this was the first time he was met with a furious blonde when he sat up after such an injury.

Well, it was the first time he had been met with a furious blonde _with _ice powers.

"Hey, Snowflake," He mumbled, rubbing his head and feeling rough patches of dried blood. "How long have I been out?"

"Fourteen hours." Elsa hissed through her teeth. This was the first time she had taken her mask off, partly because the metal was uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time but also to show that, underneath the bravado of crime fighters, they were both just people.

Eugene swung his legs off the hospital bed and stood up, but immediately slipped on the ice Elsa had built up on the platform. She didn't help him climb back up. And he understood why she might be so angry at him. Foggy memories buzzed in his mind, showing him a distorted memory of Rapunzel being dragged away by the Stabbingtons. He honestly didn't know how that had happened. On all the other occasions where he had fought the brothers there hadn't been much difficulty. But with the Arendelle Vigilante, there was suddenly some kind of distraction; something human. Of course, perhaps it wasn't Elsa who had been distracting him.

"Okay, I can see how that may be bad," Eugene said regretfully, having to hold onto the bed to keep steady. His shoulder still ached, but it was not as pronounced now. In fact, it was fading quite rapidly, as was his headache. It made him wonder what kind of care the CEO of the Noble Corps had put him under. "Have they sent any kind of ransom? They must know who she is."

"None," Elsa commented, appearing to be making a conscious effort to keep herself from cracking under the phenomenal emotional anguish Eugene had no doubt she was suffering through. "But Anna called. She's found out Rapunzel's gone, and has filed a missing persons report."

"That's not exactly a ransom." Eugene pointed out, although he regretted it when Elsa gave him a fiery stare.

"I've sent Kristoff to take Anna to the precinct. She's also been told I've had to leave town on business, so I'm going to hear about _that _disappointment if and when we get Rapunzel back." Elsa said this matter-of-factly, before she turned to march back towards the main hub.

Stumbling after her, Eugene was unsurprised to find Olaf and Pabbie diligently studying maps of the city and monitoring all the News Channels for mentions of the Stabbingtons. As of yet, no one channel had reported the missing teenager, meaning the Vigilantes would have a clear run of the city in pursuit of Vlad and Gregor. However, at the same time Eugene knew it was only a matter of time until Anna's report was taken seriously, so they would have to locate Rapunzel as soon as possible. However, the fact that Olaf had zoomed in on an abandoned Westerguard Industries warehouse in the manufacturing district was promising, if currently inexplicable.

"Have we got a lead?" Eugene asked, noting the address as relatively nearby. "Did you follow them?"

"No, whatever cut off the camera footage at the gas station for them did the same thing while they were escaping last night," Olaf explained, for once sounding deeply intelligent rather than his initial goofy demeanour. "But they got in contact with us. Which is worrying, because they know what frequency we use for Elsa's earpiece and can listen to any information I can give you."

"They _rang _you?" Eugene questioned, quite frankly surprised by this out-of-character action for his long-term enemies.

"Someone's been giving them help," Pabbie muttered indistinctly, in a way which did not directly contribute to the conversation. "They have far more resources than made out they have access to."

"They also had demands," Elsa finished, turning on Eugene. "They want you, and they'll give us Rapunzel in return."

There was a brief pause as Eugene considered this development. He dully registered that everything of any interest had happened while he was unconscious.

"That sounds like a ransom to me." He argued feeling like the situation was not turning out the way he thought it might two days ago. There was some part of him which actually dreaded the prospect of being traded to the Stabbingtons.

"Well, I've turned it into a plan," Elsa told him, as she reached under a bench to hand him a folded pile of clothes; mainly his 'Flynn Rider' uniform, but with a new waistcoat. "And I'm going to need you to get her out. We have an arranged time to meet them, we know where they are, we have the upper hand."

Eugene felt the material of the new waistcoat, and was pleased to find it was the same fabric which made up Elsa's Vigilante disguise. It wouldn't cover his entire body, but at least now he had more protection for his vital organs. And it would really bring out his eyes.

"You sound determined, Snowflake." He said, removing the borrowed clothes from the club without embarrassment to dress properly for the occasion.

"Two months ago, a group of thieves tried to murder my sister," She reminded him, picking up her own mask and sliding it over her face. "Now they're all rotting in a cell. Let's see what will happen to men who already have several death sentences."

* * *

The roads on the edge of Arendelle were abnormally quiet, with the tarmac blazing under the electric streetlights but no flash of moving cars sped by nor was there the roar of an engine for miles around. Except, of course, the far-off chug of the truck crawling up the middle of the freeway with the guard of Arendelle and Arcadian police cruisers. He couldn't see any of the headlights yet, but the surveillance network under his command updated him with increasingly frequent regularity. Soon, he would strike. And he could take all the time he wanted, since the Vigilante and Flynn Rider were preoccupied on the opposite side of the city.

"_Sir, the delivery is a kilometre away and closing." _A nameless cohort, who was in the endeavour purely for the money, reported.

The White Knight did not answer, instead dragging the blade of his roman sword along a whetstone. He inspected the razor sharp silver edge, which, after several hours of sharpening, had the potential to cut even the damp light of the evening street. In front of him, the empty freeway stretched out to the horizon. His position on the edge of a bridge gave him the advantage of elevation, as well as surprise; a point which was integral to the success of his plan. A sharp sword, elevation and an exit strategy waiting three miles away. This would be easy.

As a matter of ritual, he continued scraping the sword against the whetstone for a few more minutes until the same assistant reported the truck was only five-hundred metres away. When the rapidly approaching lights began to spread over the road directly below the bridge, the Knight kicked the stone away to clatter God knows where. His sword would be sharp enough. Even if it was immediately blunted again, the damage he could do without it would be a matter of pride to those who had taught him his skills. Those had been long years in freezing mountains.

Focusing on the fleet of cars, the White Knight counted six cruisers and a single swat van surrounding the truck which had _Westerguard Industries _emblazoned on the side. It was stupid of the Westerguards to have their name labelled on such a delicate package. There had been much outrage at the creation of this device among the scientific community, especially as so far there were only two in existence; one of which was being used in civil war half a world away. This one was being sent to Arendelle with the express intent to keep it hidden.

Between the seven vehicles, the Knight calculated there to be twenty-four men; provided each cruiser had a driver and a passenger while the swat team would be comprised of twelve. Of course, the authorities would more or less regard the delivery as _delivered_ by this point. No one in Arendelle knew the device was even coming to the city, except for the Knight. He had pulled strings with the Mayor's office to find the exact details, including day, time, path and guard. Twenty-four was a worst case scenario.

"All teams, await my command," The White Knight instructed into his microphone as the delivery reached one-hundred metres. "Do not approach until I call."

He didn't wait for the response, as the truck began to pass under the bridge. As if he was jumping off a pier and into the sea, the White Knight stepped off the bridge to land with a roll on the top of the truck. In a bizarre moment of the shifting perspective, the bridge suddenly shot away as his speed increased. The Knight was disorientated for only a moment before he dropped low and slid to the rear of the truck with a magnetised glove to keep him steady atop the speeding vehicle.

Reaching the end of the main body, the White Knight slung himself down the rear doors to reveal his presence to the swat van. There was no doubt that a radio alarm was already circulating among the escorting cars. However, as the Knight quickly lowered himself down the tyres he withdrew his sword, which glinted in the flickering darkness. Hand securely fixed to the metal outline of the container of the truck, he leant down and pressed the point of his sword into the black spinning rubber which supported the vehicle. There was a great resistance, greater than what the average man could handle, but the Knight persevered and eventually drove the blade into the tyre.

Almost immediately, the truck began to rapidly decelerate. Naturally, the sudden halting of the leading vehicle provided an unavoidable obstacle for the swat van which tailed it. The van crashed into the rear of the truck just as the White Knight managed to swing himself out of the way. There was a jolt, a metallic _crunch_, and then both automobiles halted.

Climbing down from now steady truck, momentarily free as the rest of the escort had sped on ahead of the delivery without realising the halt, the Knight reached for a cannister the rough size of a drinks can and flung it at the hood of the swat van. Once happy it had been attached, he strode purposefully to the cabin of the truck. The driver had not been injured, but was surprised when his load had suddenly and violently paused. He was even more surprised when the masked Knight knocked courteously on the driver-side door.

Against his better nature, the driver rolled down the window.

"Hello," The White Knight said. "I'm afraid I'm here to kill you, but I just wanted you to know there are no hard feelings."

"You can't take the device, the container's bolted shut. You'd need a missile sized explosive to get through it." The driver defended, not understanding why he was being targeted nor how this fact would keep him alive.

"You are quite correct," The Knight commended, climbing the steps and driving the blade through the door of the truck. It met the target in the lower torso, near his stomach. "But the amount of fuel your nearest escort is carrying is more than enough to burn through the base, if triggered quickly enough. And I'm not going to open it _here._ Lord, no. That'd be silly."

To prove his point, the Knight detonated the small canister he had attached to the Swat van. With the power of the fuel it combusted inside the vehicle, enough force was gathered to break the fastenings holding the container to the wheels of the truck while also flipping the Swat team over and trapping them inside the van. There was a metallic _creak_ as the container slid on the weakened supports, but it did not fall.

"See?" He asked the driver, although his victim's eyes had already rolled upwards into unseeing, unresting slumber. The sword was quickly retracted from the flesh.

The Knight's next order of business was to fully detach the rear of the truck from the driver's cabin, which was an astonishingly simple thing to do. All it took was a strong swipe through the cables and a kick to a weakened bolt. Then the rear of the truck slumped down into the cabin.

"Begin extraction." The White Knight ordered into his microphone.

Within seconds, a distant light appeared in the sky accompanied by the rhythmic _thrumming_ of air being cut by rotor blades. From the darkening horizon a black, military helicopter descended over the scene of destruction, completely masking the sound of the surviving Swat team desperately trying to force their way out of the burnt, overturned van. Once the helicopter was within six feet of the ground, a small team of easily bribed muscle descended on ropes, landing in sequence at the corners of the container.

Pausing his supervision to look in the opposite direction, the Knight spotted the tell-tale lights of the other escort cars racing back down the highway. Their sirens were blaring and gunshots were already being fired. Luckily they had terrible aims.

"Get this done," The Knight ordered over the roaring engines, striding away from the team. "I'll deal with the cops."

As he positioned himself in the middle of the road, directly in line with the leading cruiser, the Knight held up his hand as if he was going to stop the oncoming vehicle with the power of his mind. He swung the sword around his wrist a few times to stretch out his muscles, then counted up the number of drivers and the number of people shooting. Six cars, and four people firing at him. That meant there would be ten families missing someone tonight.

* * *

Across the city, Rapunzel tugged on the ropes which restrained her to the creaky chair. Since her kidnapping the night before, she had been left to sit in the middle of an abandoned warehouse in a part of Arendelle she did not recognise. She had been blindfolded in the car, so had naturally not been able to take in the local scenery upon their arrival and only had the dim interior of the dilapidated building to judge her location from. Sadly, there were no definite hints. All she knew was that she was cold, hungry and terrified of the situation she had somehow gotten herself into.

The entire day had passed in a long, fearful torture of not knowing what was going on. For the most part her captors had sat in the upstairs office to wait for God knows what, although they had come down three times. Once to bring her a lump of bread to eat at what she presumed was midday, another to take her to the most unhygienic bathroom imaginable and the last was at sundown; when they emerged from the office with weapons in hand.

Rapunzel looked up with tear blurred eyes when she saw them approaching, convinced this was going to be the moment she would die. Deep inside she wished she had never come to Arendelle. Gothel had been right, she wasn't ready. Her parents didn't even know she had left Corona. She had brought all of this on herself, or so she thought. Surely this was some kind of divine punishment for defying her parents, some twist of fate which Rapunzel had set up by accident the moment she decided to travel north. Of course, Rapunzel was not privy to the local climate of crime, nor the powerful duo which was currently on its way to find her.

"Quit crying," The two-eyed kidnapper ordered, eyeing her with disdain and a lingering eye she did not appreciate. "You'll just get dehydrated, and then you'll be no use."

"Wh-what do you want with me?" Rapunzel managed to choke out through her dry throat.

The giant turned away from her as if he might be able to supernaturally sense another presence in the large, echoing building. Rapunzel heard nothing beyond her own beating heart. Eyepatch, as she had nicknamed the ever silent captor, stalked forward in the vacant space to pursue whatever it was they could sense that she could not. On feather light feet, Eyepatch tiptoed to an abandoned piled of crates which lined one side of the warehouse. Still, Rapunzel didn't notice whatever it was that concerned the twins so badly.

"It's nothing personal," The speaking kidnapper grumbled, pulling a gun from the waistband of his trousers and aiming towards the wooden debris. "We just have an old score to settle, and you happen to be very useful for our ends."

As he said this, Eyepatch rounded the end of the crates. He slowly leant around the corner, but was immediately knocked back by the surprise attack from a familiar form. The strike Flynn Rider sent into Eyepatch's shoulder was pathetically weak, and did not make any difference to the limbering adversary, who merely stumbled before hitting the vigilante back.

Flynn groaned as his head snapped back, and he fell to his knees pathetically.

"Alright, you win this one Greg," He hissed, rubbing his jaw as he inspected the scene. The obvious _click _of the safety on the lead brother's gun did not escape him. "You could've been more surprised though. Remember when this was fun?"

Silent as ever, the kidnapper merely dragged Flynn by his sore shoulder to the centre of the room. The lead twin levelled the gun on the shorter man's chest as casually as one might smooth a crease on a family member's shirt. To his credit, Flynn barely reacted to the obvious threat. He just smiled and acted like the twins were presenting him with a birthday cake.

"Oh! For me? Vlad, you really shouldn't have. You guys are always so thoughtful!" Flynn sarcastically jabbered, never breaking eye contact with the man who was threatening his life.

"Shut. Up." The lead brother lowly commanded, twitching his finger on the trigger as an indication of his short temper. "Where's the sparkly one?"

In response, Flynn just gave an underwhelmed and unimpressed expression before turning his attention towards Rapunzel.

"You alright there, shorty?" He loudly asked, noting her tear stained, terrified face. "I'm afraid the Arendelle Vigilante couldn't make it. But don't worry, I'm here to rescue you!"

"Well, you're doing a brilliant job so far," Vlad mocked, waving the gun slightly. There was a brief pause as he collected his thoughts. "You have been a thorn in our sides since day one, Rider. I think 'hate' is too weak a word to really describe this. You will not believe how much satisfaction I will get from this."

"Ah! Well, you really wouldn't want to do that," Flynn warned, refusing to turn back to face him in favour of watching Rapunzel. "Because then you'd really piss off one of my friends. Actually, Merida probably wouldn't track you down. But my teammate might."

The twins laughed obnoxiously at the weak threat. From their perspective, and from Rapunzel's, they couldn't lose. They had the daughter of a wealthy businessman and the cousin of a wealthier businesswoman in their clutches. They had their enemy at their knees. Best of all, there wasn't any back-up coming. Rapunzel failed to see any way out of it.

"A teammate? You?" Vlad questioned, levelling the gun on Flynn's temple. "I recall you saying, when you nearly blinded Gregor, that Flynn Rider didn't do partnerships. Who can you possibly have coming? You said it yourself, the Vigilante's not here."

It was at this moment that Rapunzel, who had not moved from her bindings against the chair behind the brothers, felt a chilling presence appear behind her. The air turned sharp from the cold and the rough ropes trapping her hands to the back of the chair suddenly fell slack.

"Yeah, you're right," Flynn casually replied. "The Vigilante's not coming. The _Snow Queen_, on the other hand…"

There was an abrupt, almighty storm-blast of a blizzard from behind Rapunzel not a second after Flynn had said this. Vlad was caught in the powerful flurry of razor-sharp particles, and was ripped from his stance between Rapunzel and Flynn to be sent sprawling across the rough floor for a harsh distance. As Gregor reacted to this, pulling a second handgun from the waistband of his trousers in reflex, Flynn sprung from a kneeling start into the giant's waist. Using the momentum this gave him and aided by the swirling wind, Flynn lifted Gregor clear off the floor to tackle the adversary into the nearest support beam.

When this beam was reached, the snowy gales immediately died down; causing Flynn to drop the kidnapper into the rusted metal with a loud _thunk_.

"Hide," A kind, if hardened, voice instructed Rapunzel as the 'Snow Queen' dragged the chair from under her. The old wood was broken apart as if it was a tiny bundle of twigs, as the heroine covered the freed legs with a bulky layer of ice and flung one towards the scuffle. "Flynn!"

Flynn Rider darted to catch the offered melee weapon, and brought it down straight into Gregor's knee.

"Behind you!" He called back, before putting his energies back into subduing the one-eyed criminal.

The Snow Queen wheeled around on the spot, throwing a second frozen chair leg directly into Vlad's stomach. His eyes bulged, lungs gasping for air as he was winded. Taking this chance, she opened her hands in a clawed position, arms wide, and called on a blizzard to create a swirling ring of glacial sized ice around Vlad. The Snow Queen strode over this rising coliseum to be encased with her enemy, but not before she gave Rapunzel a pointed look.

Understanding the instruction, Rapunzel ran for cover behind the piled crates but no further. Despite her fears, she felt blood bound to the building as if she couldn't stand leaving these heroes behind. She was also fairly certain Anna would want a detailed account of the confrontation.

* * *

"Alright people!" Captain Latimer hollered at the precinct, who immediately silenced themselves. Anna remained transfixed on the News, waiting for any mention of Rapunzel or the Vigilante. "We have a situation on the outskirts of the city! Some maniac has interrupted a delivery, and the officers there are requesting back-up. I want ten pairs to go post haste."

Anna glanced away from the computer screen for a mere second, watching the assembled cops volunteer for the job. She dully registered Kristoff get to his feet, possibly eager to get away from babysitting her, but his face was blank. As she turned back around, however, she noticed him reaching for his cell phone on the desk. Anna registered that surely such an item was not allowed when on duty. But then she pushed the thought away. She was too intent on catching the moment the Vigilante appeared on the news returning Rapunzel to a public spot.

"Okay, the eight of you," Latimer commanded, pointing away from Kristoff to some of the largest cops Anna had ever seen. "And go fetch Sullivan and Wazowski. Bjorgman! You continue monitoring. If anything changes, I want to know immediately!"

As he sat down, Anna pretended not to notice the poorly disguised expression of abstract disappointment on Kristoff's face. The cop watched his colleagues leave, followed by Captain Latimer returning to his office to take a call, before gloomily watching the news channel with Anna instead. She could feel his eyes flicking over the passing text at the bottom of the screen, although every now and again she could have sworn he was glancing at her. Not that she was looking at him very much. No. No time for the young police officer. Just for focussing on the rescue of her cousin.

It dully bugged Anna that Elsa was not here with her, waiting anxiously for Rapunzel's hero to make good on her promise. Of course, knowing Elsa, she would be holed up in the Noble Estate just as frightened for the young girl's fate. That seemed to be Elsa's go to response. In times of trouble; hide.

Kristoff sighed heavily beside her, and he turned away to survey the emptied precinct. Apart from three other, recently hired officers it was just Anna and him. There wasn't even anything to particularly do. He could have easily kept watch over the younger Noble sister in a bar rather than in the middle of a station. At least then he would have Sven to keep watch as well. Obviously any and all animals, even police trained ones, were strictly prohibited from the offices. As a result, Sven was currently waiting for his partner in a kennel on the ground floor.

"Anything yet?" He asked, itching to be out helping his colleagues stop this madman on the highway.

"No," Anna vacantly reported, eyes transfixed on the twenty-four hour reporter. "If you really want to go, you can. I promise I won't steal any guns. Why steal when you could buy the entire Walmart supply, am I right?"

"I'm not watching you in case you steal anything," Kristoff clarified, realising the impression he had been giving with his preoccupations. "I'm watching you because I was asked to." He did not mention that it was the Vigilante who had asked him.

"Well, I don't need it," The redhead neutrally argued. "And it looks like there's far more you could be doing instead of watching me watch television."

A message bubble opened at the bottom of the computer monitor, blinking as urgent as well as being _for police eyes only_. They both noticed the alert at the same time. Kristoff waited a few moments before carefully shoving Anna's wheeled chair out of the way. She understood that she probably shouldn't see whatever it was Kristoff had to.

"I suppose I'm here just in case something bad happens," He gently said as he waited for the message to load up. It turned out to be a video feed as the entire screen was taken up by the new window. "If things don't go well with the Vigilante and Ra- Miss Engel, then you may need me."

Anna swung around in her chair to argue back; to spout off on her unwavering belief in the Vigilante's capabilities and the sheer madness of the idea that any harm could come to Rapunzel under her watch. Perhaps, even, she would have denied the heart destroying guilt she harboured over forcing Rapunzel into that club in the first place. If Anna had just held her temper, or said something different, then the so-called Stabbingtons would not have abducted Rapunzel and she would not be in this position. It was Kristoff's luck that she hadn't given any thought to the casual presumption that it would be the Vigilante who found Rapunzel first, not his own fellow officers.

But then she had caught the image being transmitted to Kristoff's computer, and she immediately forgot everything she was going to say.

"What the hell is _that_?" She gawped, watching the flickering, unsteady, live recording.

In the moments since Captain Latimer had announced a confrontation, one of the officers on the highway had obviously taken advantage of the cameras all the Police cruisers were equipped with to send a visual account of the attack back to the station. While the picture was slightly tilted to the right and the colours were not distinct, it was impossible to deny the blaring white blur which wielded a sword like an extension of itself. A few garbled gunshots _crackled _over the line, masking out the steady chug of the helicopter in the background of the video. Anna watched as three spots on the White form's suit rippled, but not burst open in a bloody bullet wound. The thing remained uninjured and fixed in its position even as the officers from Arendelle and Arcadia got out of their vehicles and approached the creature.

It was then that Anna saw the distinct orange flames in the middle distance of the video, and she realised that going near the thing was the worst possible action the officers could have taken.

What followed made even Kristoff gasp in shock, in the sheer brutality and fluidity of the one-sided battle.

* * *

Once Vlad Stabbington found himself encased in an ice-pit, he took on all the mannerisms of an enraged animal. The glare he levelled on the Snow Queen was unparalleled by all the foes she had faced so far but had the same effect as all of them. He had made her angry, and now he was going to feel the retribution of that rage.

When he reached for the gun, the Snow Queen threw up a row of jagged icicles to block his movement while also creating an inner ring which limited his range of motion. One frozen point ripped itself along the outside of his hand, causing him to yowl in pain as his blood dripped onto the cold floor. There was a tense moment as Vlad counted through his options, before slowly realising that there were none open to him. Flynn Rider and the Snow Queen had managed to completely separate him from Gregor; denying the much needed back up which had always proven useful. It was really just him and her.

That didn't stop him from lunging for her with a rock-sized fist with all the force necessary to shatter the mask against her dainty face. However, the Snow Queen had realised that while his height gave Vlad an advantage in terms of strength her comparative tiny stature allowed her to merely duck under his thick arm. She did drop much lower than most would have intended, although this merely allowed her to turn the scene even more in her favour as her open hand brushed the floor and spread an ice-rink under their feet.

The Snow Queen remained steady on this new perch as if she was merely an extension of the Earth. Of course, in this case the earth had really become an extension of her. She had reached a rare state of being in her mind which allowed her to focus only on her immediate task and bend her powers to her will in place of the normal unruliness. Whether this was due to rage, or familial concern for Rapunzel, or a balance of the two binary emotions she didn't know. All the Snow Queen knew was that Vlad Stabbington had to go down.

And go down he did, as the force behind his punch combined with the sudden lubrication under his feet sent Vlad sprawling on the ground once more. He slid over the ice at quite a speed as well, with enough energy dragging him to collide with the ring of icicles.

Taking the opportunity, the Snow Queen trod heavily on his shoulder to keep him on the floor. She mused briefly that when there wasn't any other issue, such as his brother or a kidnaped cousin, she could quite easily defeat the criminal using his own weight against him alone. Had she been in the mood, she may have let him get back up for a few more rounds of fighting. But this was to get Rapunzel out of their grasp only. Nothing more.

With this in mind, she abruptly elbowed dropped into him, making sure to punch Vlad in the face in the process.

* * *

The first man to approach him fell easily and with minimal wounding. It was a bare-hand kill, without the requirement of his sword to fulfil the act. All the White Knight had needed to do was part the cop from his gun with a quick twist to break his wrist, then twist him around and push upwards at the base of his spin. There was a sickening _snap_, then the officer crumpled like a broken ragdoll.

The Knight considered for a moment how terrifying he might appear to the people he killed. He certainly scared the Mayor. Few people, if any, would ever dream of meeting such a man as he. His clothing had all the appearance of the average superhero; a white, protective bodysuit made from an experimental bullet-proof material manufactured for the military completed by a sweeping golden cape which fell from his additional shoulder armour to the floor. On top of this, the Knight wore a similar gold sash equipped for the carrying of extra weapons, as well holding the sheath for his sword in place. His boots were toughened and a sooty grey in colour. However, the true division between the conventional vigilante and his own brand of civil service, apart from his willingness to kill, was his helmet.

His helmet was modelled on the versions worn by European knights in the Middle Ages, although was more lightweight and composed of a similar impervious material to the rest of his suit. As such, it was fixed firmly in place and looked to be restrictive in terms of vision. However, the visor was in fact mostly transparent from the inside to allow adequate deception and visibility. Overall it was smooth and uninterrupted by any feature, apart from decorative eyes over his own and the tiniest of spikes atop the helmet. It was perhaps this blank feature which was the most terrifying aspect of his appearance. To see nothing but be aware of the vast genius which lay behind cloth, plastic and metal.

At least, this is what the White Knight _thought_ the cops would see.

Two more officers held a position a fair distance away from him, having witnessed his handling of the first man to approach. Slowly, the six police cruisers aligned themselves in a rough semi-circle around the scene as if they could contain the Knight. Of course, they did not understand the plan he had formed. There was no way of stopping him now. All he had to do was keep the police at bay long enough for the container to be secured. Which wouldn't be too difficult.

In the time the Knight waited for the cars to finish their 'blockade', the officers who had been firing on him had emptied their guns to no effect. Feeling the pitter-patter of the bullets end, the Knight decided it was his turn and leapt to the nearest opponent. There was a brief slash of his sword, and the cop was felled much like those who had stood before him.

Wheeling around on the spot, the Knight flung the sword into the nearest car. It stabbed through the glass and impaled itself into the man who was about to get out. Taking this chance; the Knight whirled around to deliver a kick into the jaw of a third officer who had snuck up behind him, or had tried. He slumped to the ground and the Knight stomped on his neck for good measure.

As he reached for the sword from the bleeding man in the car, he felt a new presence approaching him with an angered growl. The Knight didn't even need to turn in order to cut through the cop's knees and send him to the floor howling in pain. In the same swipe, he cut through the trunk of the neighbouring car. As intended, he sliced through a fuel line which let a steady trickle of oil spurt out onto the ground in a growing pool.

In the time this had taken place, the remaining officer who had fired on him had reloaded his gun whilst also waiting for two more cops to get out of their cars to approach the Knight. Rather than focus on the pair closing in on him from either side, the Knight instead took a careful step forward. He stared down the man who was training the barrel of his gun on the Knight's chest, but couldn't hide the shake which had manifested after watching the proficiency with which the costumed criminal had brushed away the other attacks.

"Stay back!" The Cop shouted, glancing to his colleagues from Arcadia for help. Even they seemed apprehensive to go near the so-far unstoppable killer.

The Knight didn't listen to the warning, leaving the officer no choice but to fire on him. However, the thief seemed to predict this action and quickly moved to one side. The bullet glided through the air uninterrupted, until it hit the split metal of the cruiser behind the Knight. As intended, the scraping of metal on metal was powerful enough to throw spark over the trunk; while it was also close enough to the gasoline to create a tongue of flames running over any flammable material. This path led the flames into the engine of the cruiser, unsurprisingly causing an explosion to erupt from the vehicle.

The officer inside the car was burnt away, while the pair who had been slowly moving in on the Knight were thrown away as if they weighed nothing. The White Knight alone was unaffected by the spontaneous catalysing of kinetic and thermal energy behind him. His suit absorbed most of the energy to leave him unhindered. The blade of his sword, on the other hand, was heated to a burning temperature and possessed an unsettling glow by the time he had reached the officer who now stared agape at the unfortunate chain of events.

"I think you see why I didn't want to 'stay back'." The Knight stated nonchalantly before raising his sword over the officer.

* * *

Having watched the battle in silence for the past few minutes, Kristoff was unsure what to do after seeing the police cruiser explode. Anna had sat aghast at the graphic live feed which played across all the monitors, although it was cut out as the camera transmitting the event was undoubtedly destroyed by the fire. From the office they could hear Latimer barking into a phone and shouting orders for a helicopter to observe the scene. Seconds later he gave a command to Wazowski to hold off on the scene. He hadn't seemed to realise that an ordinary citizen was privy to the goings on outside of Arendelle. Of course, none of them had any idea why a maniac would want a delivery to Westerguard Industries. To them, it was just a regular shipment of materials.

"Bjorgman!" Latimer called from his office door, not paying Anna any attention. "The helicopter will be going over the scene any moment. Get any details you can from the feed!"

"Yes sir." Kristoff mindlessly replied, finding an excuse to push Anna away from the screen as he reached for a notepad and pen.

"Kristoff, what's happening?" Anna asked, horrified at the casual murder she had just seen take place. She knew there would be families missing husbands, fathers and sons tonight, and as someone who had abruptly lost her own relatives she could feel their pain. There was a hate of the gleaming white figure coiling inside of her stomach, growing by the second. And she needed to know what was happening to stop him.

"I'm sorry, this is strictly ACPD business," Kristoff neutrally informed her, although he opened the new birds-eye feed in her view regardless. "Just- just watch the news for Rapunzel."

On the screen, the white figure killed the last officer as calmly as one might swat a fly. As a matter of insult, he dropped to one knee and wiped the blood on the dead officer's uniform. Once he was finished, the man wandered to the hovering container suspended below the dark, unregistered military helicopter. He climbed onto the side of the hanging metal crate, sliding his sword between the chains from the helicopter as a handle, and motioned to the pilot. With that, the seemingly precious cargo, complete with a man who met all the qualifications of a mass-murderer, was lifted away from the empty highway with only bodies and burning vehicles to mark that anything had happened.

Unfortunately for Kristoff, the police helicopter had been ordered not to pursue the enemy; leaving him to scribble down as many details as he could gleam from the fuzzy image. There was little to spot, especially as there were no registrations or defining marks from which he could figure anything out.

The situation was made infinitely worse when Anna leant over to his shoulder, a strangely pretty, angry scowl dominating her face. She pointed to the diminishing image of the dark helicopter with an accusing finger. Kristoff found himself peering at the hazy pale character on her instruction, and noticed a rather threatening turn of events.

"What's he doing now?" Anna asked, disgusted but equally confused.

After a second more, Kristoff felt a chill wash over him as he realised what the man was doing.

"Captain!" Kristoff yelled to the office. "Order them out of there!"

Latimer did not hear Kristoff's shout. Instead, he was transfixed by the burst of orange in front of the helicopter miles away. Shortly after this, the feed cut out as the police present at the scene were once again taken out by the bazooka the white villain had launched from his own helicopter.

Realizing the culprit had gotten away, as well as destructively wiping out any potential leads they had on him, the entire precinct fell into uproar.

* * *

Elsa elbow dropped into Vlad with a satisfying _crunch_ as his bones snapped on impact. The Stabbington groaned, slumped and did not move again. She was glad; partly because this meant that, at last, she could relax. The last twenty four hours had been a tense hell and with Rapunzel's safety came a boost in Elsa's confidence. There was also the fact that the elbow drop had really hurt, so Vlad staying down was a blessing as Elsa was concerned she had cracked her wrist from the force of her blow.

A slow, but congratulatory clap echoed from outside the of Elsa's frozen wrestling ring as Flynn appeared over the edge. He had bruises forming on his knuckles, and his shoulder seemed almost too painful to move now.

"Well, you proved me wrong," He commented, shaking his hand out once he had finished his solo round of applause. "You can deal with the Stabbingtons. Couldn't have done it better myself. Except, you know, all those other times I've stopped them."

"Har-har," Elsa deadpanned, climbing to her feet on aching legs. She reached for a hand, which Flynn gave when he pulled her up. "Gregor's down, then?"

"Didn't stand a chance without Vlad. He has only got one eye, after all," Flynn reported, pointing to the mass on the floor. "Handcuffed him to a girder, should hold him until the cops arrive. Look at him; sleeping like a gargantuan, murderous baby."

Nodding in approval, Elsa turned to spot a more than welcome sight peeking from behind the old crates. Seeing that the danger to her wellbeing had passed and that her rescuers had been victorious, Rapunzel carefully stepped out into the open. She surveyed the scene with an expression somewhere between fear and satisfaction, but overall was coping with the immense shock most people would suffer in this situation. Indeed, she was more willing than she had been only a day before to approach the vigilantes.

"Erm- Er, thanks." Rapunzel stammered, casting the ice structures and the unconscious captors an uncertain glance. It appeared she was still concerned that Flynn Rider and the newly named Snow Queen would change their minds and attack her instead, so she naturally kept just out of arm's reach.

"Are you alright?" The Snow Queen asked in her electronically deepened voice. The hero absentmindedly stepped closer towards Rapunzel, sounding more like the worried guardian she supposed she was now. It took all her control not to reach out and make sure a safe Rapunzel was not just an illusion.

Rapunzel noticed the proximity between them, but did not recoil as she would have done normally. Instead, she felt a deeper recognition and familiarity with the Snow Queen which she couldn't place. It was like staring at a picture which had hung on her wall for years, but seeing it in a different setting somehow gave it a completely new meaning. And for a reason undecipherable for her, it made Rapunzel think of the Noble Corporation.

"I'm- Yeah! I'm fine." She nervously replied, feeling the entire situation of being rescued by both the Corona and Arendelle Vigilantes was entirely surreal. This feeling made her stop. All her life, Rapunzel had thought she was an optimist.

"You were brave, Shorty. Well done." Flynn Rider commended, giving her a two finger salute.

"Thanks," Rapunzel said, at once realising where she had seen the infamous Flynn Rider before. "Eugene."

All of Flynn's relaxed, celebratory movement ceased as he fixed Rapunzel with a surprised glare which melded imperceptibly with his leftover broad grin from beating the Stabbingtons. His eyes flicked across to the Snow Queen for the briefest of seconds before sliding back onto Rapunzel's uneasy but knowingly hopeful stare. She smiled shyly.

"Your mask barely covers your eyebrows and you showed up right before the… Snow Queen did yesterday," She explained, looking at the ground as she added. "I'm actually surprised I didn't see it sooner, I'm quite good at spotting things."

"Not as good as you think…" Flynn mumbled, sending a carefully neutral glance at the Snow Queen.

Elsa saw it best to interrupt the conversation before anymore was unknowingly revealed or Rapunzel could have any more revelations. It did hurt her, though, that her own cousin could recognise a near-total stranger in a mask using eyebrows and a nickname but could not identify a _family member _standing right beside them. She realized, on some level, that the Elsa Rapunzel knew wasn't the kind of person to beat up bad guys or create blizzards at a click of her fingers. Elsa Noble was just a reclusive CEO.

"We should get you home," The Snow Queen instructed, keeping a tenser posture so as to throw Rapunzel off identifying her. "I suppose you could either wait for the police to arrive, or we can take you as far as the Noble Tower."

"Erm…" Rapunzel deliberated, focussing more on the man she knew as Eugene Fitzherbert more than the speaker. Although, upon inspection, Elsa could have sworn Rapunzel was watching something behind Flynn. "A ride would be great, thanks? I should really call Anna. Do either of you have a phone I could borrow?"

"We're vigilantes," Flynn drily rebuked, motioning for her to follow her saviours. "We're not going to be carrying anything noisy around with us."

"I don't think you're vigilantes," Rapunzel replied, stepping between them as they began to walk towards the exit. "I think you two are superheroes."

By the way she offered this comment, Elsa thought Rapunzel was going to say more. But she was instead surprised when her cousin froze upon seeing a hitherto unnoticed threat and unthinkingly threw herself into the Snow Queen's shimmering form. Following the bizarrely erratic path the brunette was taking, Elsa saw one of the very things which made her blood run cold. Whilst they had been conferring in the middle of the empty warehouse (now battleground), they had all failed to notice that Flynn hadn't quite stopped Gregor Stabbington as he had assumed. In the meantime, the one-eyed criminal had regained consciousness, reached for a gun Elsa had not known was on his person and taken aim. In no time at all he had pulled the trigger.

Rapunzel, who had spent the last seventy-two hours trying to keep everyone safe from harm, had been the first to see the imminent danger. Instinctively, much as she had during her first encounter with Flynn Rider and the Snow Queen, she made sure to get the nearest person out of that danger. She didn't recall or perhaps didn't know that the Snow Queen's suit was specially designed to brush off bullets, but Rapunzel nevertheless threw herself on top of her hero.

When she felt the equivalent pain of a small cut, she was confused. As the pain spread, and began to feel hot, she gasped slightly. Once she felt a warm dampness spread across her low abdomen she knew something was definitely wrong.

As Rapunzel thought this through, the Snow Queen returned fire with a speeding icicle aimed on Gregor's weapon. The white projectile sliced across the open space, meeting its target and sending the gun clattering to the concrete. Knowing now that Gregor couldn't fire again, Elsa let herself fall to the floor with Rapunzel atop her.

But when Rapunzel didn't climb off of her, and instead lay heavily across the shimmering suit, Elsa's world froze. Her cousin was unimaginably still, only the most shallow of breaths could be felt and when Elsa dropped her hand down to find purchase on the ground the most sickeningly familiar liquid met her fingers. Every single one of her worst nightmares seemed to come true in that one moment when Elsa saw the terrible, cooling red on her fingertips.

Flynn was there in an instant, lifting Rapunzel off of Elsa so delicately it was like he was afraid she might shatter. Both their hearts fell when they saw the rose-like pattern which had emerged and continued to spread on the young girl's shirt, centring around a jagged wound the likes of which few should seldom see.

* * *

**I feel this is a slightly worse cliff-hanger than last time. **

**Please Review.**


	19. New Players - Part Six

**Alright, guys and gals! I couldn't leave it there, so I've gone flat out and finished the Flynn Rider arc of the story (which has personally been my favourite so far). Hopefully this won't impact on my A-Levels too much…**

**In the responses; to Batman1809, the 'civil war' will be an important background point, but won't be picked up on for a good few weeks yet. I'm not sure on the time frame yet but there will be at least two chapter arcs before it's really explained. **

**To minerbuilder12; there are plans to bring the Archer in, although it may not be within this story. I haven't decided yet. And there is, perhaps, maybe, a notion in motion concerning a team. But that will definitely be long term and I'd have to get to the end of this story first (not to mention introduce all the others). So, we'll see.**

**Also, the responses to the White Knight. Hopefully the battle scene in the last chapter did reveal more about his thought processes (and appearance), although I don't think the character is fully defined yet. He's ruthless and pragmatic, but there's a lot more of him to see yet. So many thanks to my reviewers on that and I'm glad to see he's made such an impression.**

**Lastly, a thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. I never know whether I have a consistent standard (especially since most of my writing is done at night), so I'm always touched to see it's appreciated. **

**As always, I will fix any spelling mistakes later on. This chapter really just couldn't wait.**

* * *

For the first time in her life, Elsa found herself at a loss on how to act next. Every time something had gone wrong before there had always been somewhere she could go or someone she could talk to. When she had hurt Anna as a child, she had screamed the house down for her parents. When she had lashed out at the mall two months ago, she had run to North Mount Station for refuge. When Facilier had incapacitated her with Voodoo, Kristoff had come to her rescue. But now, with Rapunzel losing consciousness and blood, the so-called superhero had no idea what she could do to fix this.

The most obvious thing to do would be to take Rapunzel to the nearest hospital, but that would mean crossing the city on a motorbike with a bleeding girl in the sidecar. Someone would be bound to notice and hinder her progress before she could even get her cousin close. Even if they called for an ambulance, it would take time Rapunzel did not have for the emergency services to arrive in this out-of-the-way corner of the city, not to mention the time it would take to the return to the Emergency Room. As plans go, the hospital was unfortunately a poor choice.

Another option would be to try to freeze the teen in an attempt to slow her metabolism and heart rate. This would prevent the bleeding, but the chances of killing her through hypothermia were far greater than the chances Rapunzel could be revived. In the emotional panic she rapidly felt herself descending into, Elsa knew this would be the worst possible thing she could do.

Flynn also looked to be clueless on what they should do. The most he could think of at the moment was to lift Rapunzel's legs, and the bullet wound in her stomach, higher than her upper chest and heart. Any effect this might have in stopping the frightening flow of blood was most likely negligible. Nevertheless, Elsa recognised this as at least a productive course of action. At least Flynn was trying to do _something_.

But time and options were quickly disappearing much like the colour in Rapunzel's face. Elsa had enough anatomical knowledge to inspect the wound and realise that the bullet had imbedded itself ten centimetres above Rapunzel's left hip, cutting through a number of important veins with the added potential damage of stomach acid leaking into the damaged flesh. If the correct materials had been to hand, Elsa may have been able to make a messy job of sewing up the first layer of the injury, but, unsurprisingly, there was nothing of any use nearby. And there was always the risk that the internal bleeding would put too much pressure on Rapunzel's other organs.

There were simply too many variables, too many risks to combat the situation and the fact that Rapunzel's life hung in the balance did not help Elsa make up her mind any faster.

"Elsa, what do we do?" Flynn asked, genuine human concern manifesting in his eyes as he looked over the dying girl in his arms. There was an oddly protective quality to the way Flynn held her, as he hunched over and did his best to make her comfortable. It seemed he had already come to the conclusion that Rapunzel was going to die in this warehouse, among the people who had done their best to save her.

Elsa was at a loss for words. Her mind kept spinning, rehearsing everything that had led up to this point for anything that might be useful in her head. The world in front of her eyes seemed almost unreal, and she instead saw herself being angry at Flynn mere hours ago for letting Rapunzel be kidnapped. Then she saw the fight in the nightclub, the way Gregor had so easily thrown her away. The first meeting with Flynn, when she had nearly stabbed Anna after the ridiculous fight that had played out between the vigilantes. Picking up Rapunzel from the train station, blissfully unaware that any of what followed would occur. As an almost distant memory, buried under the decades which had unfurled in the last three days, Elsa remembered the fire she had saved the child from; she felt the ghost pain of the burn she had inflicted across her palm.

But then the faint, lingering itch of burnt skin triggered the recollection of something Elsa had missed the first time. There was something which just may work to save Rapunzel. If it could mend a recent burn, who was to say it couldn't repair a deep bullet wound? The image of a golden flower burst into Elsa's memory as a brilliant ray of hope.

"We get her back to the Ice Palace," Elsa replied with level certainty. "And we have to go now."

Flynn looked up with a face of confusion. That confusion would have to remain as there was absolutely no time to explain what delicate thread of a plan Elsa had forming in her mind. Instead, she motioned for him to follow her as she shot off at a sprint for the motorbike parked just outside the warehouse door.

"_Elsa? Is everything okay?" _Pabbie's fretting voice echoed in her ear. As the warehouse had been off the grid, Olaf and Pabbie had been unable to keep watch through the cameras. This therefore meant that they had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"Rapunzel's been shot," Elsa answered with a greater amount of detachment than she cared to take note. She could ruthlessly evaluate her performance later, depending on the outcome. For now, determination had to override every other niggling doubt she held. "She's lost a lot of blood. We're bringing her back to the Palace. I need you to get however much we have of the serum."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"_Elsa," _Pabbie reluctantly said. "_I've only tested the serum for superficial wounds. Your burn was the first major thing it worked on! I don't even know what the long term side effects are, and imagine how much we'd need for a bullet wound! As a scientist, I can't let you use something which may have unpredictable results!"_

"But as my _friend_, you're going to do it," Elsa coldly ordered. Ethics be damned. If there was even a slight chance of this working, she was going to go through with it. "And if you don't, _I will_."

To prevent any further argument, Elsa clicked her earpiece off. She had meant every word of what she said. Right now there was nothing that could possibly get in her way. Even if she had to freeze the city, she would get Rapunzel to the Ice Palace in time.

* * *

Anna watched as the people on the street idly walked across the city promenade, blissfully unaware of the pain that was taking place not twenty miles away. She was rather surprised that the news of a mass attack on cops from Arendelle and Arcadia hadn't spread by word of mouth. But, as she soon realised, the highway had been strategically closed to prevent anyone happening across the delivery. It was literally only Anna who held no formal position in the local government and knew the truck had been stolen by a maniac with a sword. That in itself was a terrifying prospect. A man who bordered on being a supervillain was walking around right now, anywhere in the city. Kristoff had said it himself, there was absolutely no way to even begin to figure who the sword-man could possibly be. And everyone was unaware that such a man existed.

At least, Anna reflected, there was an equal and opposite force who could protect the people. Indeed, the redhead had every faith that the Arendelle Vigilante could best the regally dressed villain in a confrontation. If Anna hadn't reacted badly to Rapunzel's apprehension, the Vigilante could have stopped him right now. Or so she thought. But events were out of her control, and it was pointless for Anna to blame herself for both Rapunzel's kidnapping and the deaths of twenty-four men by extension.

The only solace was that it was highly likely the Vigilante (and Flynn Rider) had already rescued Rapunzel. Anna couldn't wait to see her cousin again, to have the chance to apologise for what she said. There was no doubt that Rapunzel would be fine.

"You alright?" An increasingly familiar voice asked from the entrance to the precinct.

Anna turned to find Kristoff standing, with Sven the Labrador by his side, in the doorway with two mugs of coffee which steamed in the cooling night air. He wasn't smiling, but his eyes showed a restrained fondness with did not go unnoticed by Anna. In contrast to his deadpan façade, she beamed upon seeing him and motioned for him to sit beside her on the steps.

"I'm fine, yeah," Anna replied, taking one of the mugs and sipping at the beverage with distaste. She far preferred hot chocolate to coffee, even in summer. "Just… I don't know. Are you alright?

"Yeah," Kristoff replied immediately, uncertain as to why his feelings should be taken into consideration. "_That's_ just a regular day for me."

"Seriously?" The Noble girl eyed him sceptically, scratching Sven behind the ear when the dog laid his head on her knee. "Twenty plus men, armed with guns, were murdered by a guy with a short sword. Is that really a regular day?"

"Okay, maybe not _regular_," The blond admitted, taking a pointed swig of coffee. He hissed at the heat of the drink. There was a fine line he had to walk between referencing his life as a police officer and as an accomplice to Elsa Noble the vigilante. "But murder's more common than you think. It's just confrontations like on the highway rarely happen so publically."

"Wow, you really know how to help a girl relax." Anna deadpanned, playfully blowing her bangs out of her eyes to punctuate her false detachment.

"Well, it's less common for all that to be done by an albino Deadpool, but you- Well, what I'm saying-… Never mind." Kristoff stammered, having somehow forgotten what his line of argument was going to be when Anna's hair had fluttered up and down so artfully.

Nearby a number of cars began honking as a motorcycle echoed through the streets. Kristoff immediately recognised this as a sign that Elsa and Flynn were returning, hopefully with Rapunzel in tow. Anna also seemed to realise the implications of that noise, although how she knew the sound of the Vigilante's bike concerned Kristoff deeply. Her minor obsession with tracking down Arendelle's local superhero teetered on the edge of unhealthy.

"I won't worry anyway," Anna said, to answer Kristoff's abandoned advice. "We have _her_ to keep us safe."

By a bizarre coincidence, both Anna and Kristoff's phone began chiming at the same time. The redhead immediately pulled out her iPhone with the hopes of seeing Rapunzel's caller ID emblazoned on the screen, although Kristoff could just spot the distinctive picture of chestnut-brown sideburns from the angle he sat at in relation to Anna. His own phone showed an unrecognised number, although the digits matched up to the ones Olaf used. He was surprised that the short man would bother to contact him in this scenario. Everything seemed pretty under control.

"I gotta take this, it's my boyfriend." Anna said with an apologetic expression, already shuffling further along the steps in order to make the call more private.

"Sure, sure," Kristoff responded, rising with Sven automatically following him as if aware of the identity of the caller. "One of my… _friends_ is trying to reach me anyway."

Kristoff just heard Anna greet Hans quietly, followed by an immediate assurance of knowing why the regional manager of Westerguard Industries might be concerned, before he clicked the accept button on his own phone.

"Bjorgman speaking." He casually answered.

"_Kristoff! Thank God!" _Olaf frantically cried from his end, most likely in the Ice Palace. "_We need you here!"_

"Olaf, I'm at work, something major has just gone down-…" Kristoff tried to argue, although he was cut off by the last thing he thought he would hear.

"_Rapunzel's been shot!" _Olaf abruptly revealed, making Kristoff pause. He immediately glanced to Anna sitting on the other end of the porch. She looked concerned, sympathetic to whatever Hans Westerguard was worrying over and promising to come meet him just as soon as she knew where her cousin was. Given the state of Olaf's fear, it was quite likely Rapunzel was in dire danger of death. "_Flynn and Els- The Snow Queen are bringing her back now! They're gonna try the serum, but we need you here in case it goes wrong!"_

"Wait, Olaf, what do you mean?" The cop a having a hard time trying to figure out why he as at all required to tend to a gunshot. He didn't belong to a medical division and he had actually created more bullet wounds than he'd fixed.

"_Listen, if Rapunzel does d- If she can't be sav- We'll need to cover up what's happened."_ Olaf explained, tripping over his sentence in his strict aversion to the worst case scenario.

It was true that, if Rapunzel did die, they would need Kristoff to sort out a cover story. There was no doubt that the teen had been moved from the actual scene of the shooting, and if the body was found moved it could only be presumed by the public that the Vigilantes had had something to do with it. In the long run, this would not help Elsa hide her secret when the entire city suddenly turned to chase her. Indeed, Elsa would probably collapse under her own anguish long before the media even began to attack her. Only Kristoff knew how to adequately fool the police and minimise at least one prime concern.

"Alright, I'm on my way." He assured, before ending the call and rushing to find his cruiser.

"Wait!" Anna called, grabbing his shoulder as he passed by and halting his progress. All he could do was try to hide the internal conflict with his standard gaze of disinterest. "I just wanted to say… Thank you for keeping me company. If things went wrong, I would have really needed you."

With that, she wrapped him in a short, sweet hug to communicate just how much she appreciated his presence even if she had complained at first. Kristoff remained rigid, a fact which seemed to hurt her when she released him. But he reasoned with himself that this was necessary in keeping Anna happy in the future. She would have to believe Rapunzel was safe and the 'Snow Queen' had succeeded.

If only she knew how wrong things had gone.

* * *

After a careful race through Arendelle, Elsa grinded the bike to a halt outside the dark entrance to North Mount Station. No words had to be said to Flynn, as he immediately clambered out of sidecar while continuing to hold Rapunzel in a steady position. The girl was still unconscious from the pain and blood loss, although she still mumbled sweet, living nonsense occasionally. This gave the vigilantes every hope that Rapunzel could still be saved. There was only so far Elsa was willing to believe that the serum could repair the damage, so the further they kept Rapunzel from death the better.

By this point Elsa was well aware that whatever half-baked plan she had formed would be highly divisive among her small team. Pabbie, as always, was correct; there was no telling what effect the serum would have on Rapunzel. It could do anything from not working on the extensive damage the bullet had caused to rapidly de-aging her cousin. Realistically, Elsa knew that the latter idea was nigh-on impossible but there were any number of outcomes which could be catastrophic for everyone involved.

With Flynn by her side, they rushed down the long, echoing halls to the cold entrance hub where Olaf stood waiting in a visibly-restrained panicked wait. He had an ambulance trolley ready for Rapunzel to be laid across in the arch marking the corridors leading into the deeper platforms. As expected, Pabbie was nowhere in sight. Elsa could only hope that the scientist was preparing the serum rather than protesting the clear trespass of morals and ethics.

"Apply pressure to the wound, keep the blood in!" She yelled at Flynn, who wordlessly applied his bare hand to the horrible mess that was Rapunzel's stomach.

As Olaf and Flynn began rolling the trolley along the unevenly frosted floor, Elsa reached for one of her discarded gloves on the workstation beside the door. The entire situation only reinforced her fear of physical, skin-on-skin contact with another person, but they by no means meant that she would leave Rapunzel without any familial comfort. As such, Elsa pulled the glove tight over her fingers before she hurried after the trio to slide her hand into Rapunzel's limp one.

At the tentative touch, Rapunzel dimly roused. She opened her eyes to reveal highly dilated and unfocused pupils which immediately fixed on the masked face of the Snow Queen.

"Wha…?" Rapunzel weakly asked, confusion prevalent as she failed to realise the results of her heroism.

"Hey, Rapunzel," Elsa instinctively comforted, feeling this was the only capacity she might be helpful in and taking off her mask to assure Rapunzel of her safety. "Everything will be alright. Just stay with us. Stay with us, and I'll get you home."

"Elsssa?" If Rapunzel was surprised it was hard to tell. To her, everything probably looked like an indistinctive blur, although the recognition showed some promise for her recovery.

"Yes, yeah, it's me. 'Punz, you'll be fine," Elsa unknowingly choked. She didn't notice as tiny tears dropped from her eyes onto her cousin's weak form. "Rest for now, you'll be fine."

It was unclear whether Rapunzel was conscious enough to understand what Elsa was saying, but she nodded and lay back. Elsa felt the tiniest of pressures as Rapunzel attempted to squeeze the gloved hand in return.

"Y'know, you still haven't told me what we're doing, Snowflake." Flynn noted as they pulled the trolley into the station platform which had been adopted as a laboratory and medical wing.

"Hopefully, a miracle." She simply answered, although her demeanour changed when Pabbie emerged from his train-car lab in full surgical scrubs.

As if acting on prior instructions, as he probably was, Olaf directed the trolley to stand alongside an IV drip and a heart monitor. Within minutes the steady beeps echoed in the largely empty hall, although the pauses between each tone were longer than Elsa would have liked. Then again, the situation was worlds away from how Elsa would have liked her life to be.

Turning on Pabbie, she was horrified to see him preparing a scalpel and thread. She carefully walked across the platform to inspect the scene, feeling her heart almost seize when she let go of Rapunzel's hand. It wasn't until Elsa was within three feet of the carriage window that she could see the golden serum. The life-saving drug was tauntingly prepared in a syringe, but it was locked inside a glass case in the wrong place to be at all useful.

"What are you doing?" Elsa found herself spitting at the diminutive scientist, recognising in herself that she was unreasonably enraged when she knew that Pabbie was only trying to do what he saw as best.

"I'm going to sew up the wound, and then I'll need to test your blood," Pabbie calmly answered, forcibly ignorant to Elsa's anger. "We're going to need to replace what's been lost in her system. Now move back."

Instead, Elsa grabbed hold of the ill-fitting scrubs to hold him back.

"Why are you doing this? We have a much quicker and much less painful solution." She argued, as the silence between the _beeps_ grew more prolonged. Despite his best efforts, Flynn was unable to keep enough blood in.

"Elsa, you don't know that," Pabbie pointed out, shrugging away from her grip and shooing Olaf away from Rapunzel's bedside. "As I've said, the serum could have any number of effects in a large dose."

"Then give her a small dose!" Elsa found herself bellowing, desperation beginning to make her feel physically sick.

"The extent of this damage, a small dose wouldn't do anything," Pabbie said, purposefully removing himself from his personal ties to the patient. This, of course, made Elsa all the angrier when he acted callous towards Rapunzel's condition. "Mr Rider, please remove your hands and I shall remove the bullet."

However, Flynn didn't move from his position. In fact, he pressed down even harder on the red hole in Rapunzel's side and looked between Pabbie and Elsa as if weighing up his options.

"You say there's a chance, you may have something that will fix her?" Flynn questioned, refusing to let go.

"_I _can fix her, Mr Rider, now step back!" Pabbie bellowed for the first time Elsa had known him. His frustration had been masked by his surgical clothing, but when he pulled back the cloth over his lower face his fear was evident. He was scared of the implications any failure with the serum might cause.

"Look, Gramps, I've been on the streets long enough to know there is no coming back from this kind of blood loss," Flynn reasonably argued, his own expression pained. "If you have anything unconventional, I think it would stand a better chance of saving her."

"Well, I'm afraid that you have no say in this situation," Pabbie hissed, staring Flynn down. "Not only are unrelated to Rapunzel, but you are a stranger who put her in this situation, with your bloody arch-rivals. Now stand back!"

A frozen wall the size of a picket fence erupted from the floor, physically holding Pabbie away from Rapunzel. There were now very few heartbeats in a minute recorded by the monitor, and the less time they spent arguing the sooner Rapunzel could be healed.

"Then what am I, Pabbie?" Elsa yelled back, holding her hand towards the window behind her back to slyly begin cracking it with ice. "She took that bullet for _me_! We were about to leave when it happened. It isn't Flynn's fault. It's mine!"

"Then let me do my job and help you." Pabbie pleaded, even though he was aware that Elsa could not collapse the structures she created. He was cut off from the 'patient' and could only race around so fast on his old legs.

"I can fix my own problems!" Elsa suddenly exploded. "I don't need you having different plans for me the entire time!"

All of a sudden the most unholy metallic _screech_ cut through the tension. Both Elsa and Pabbie wheeled around to see the unwanted source of the ear-splitting noise. Over the arguing and anger and fear, Rapunzel lay beautifully serene. Her face was relaxed, and all the sweat and grime and blood in her hair seemed to vanish as if she were really just asleep instead of the one thing that Elsa feared most for her family. Flynn, upon registering the noise and its implication, weakly released her side to see that no more blood was oozing out of the wound. Everyone was silent as the tone continued to alert them to the truth.

Only Olaf had the compassion to affirm the horrible news.

"Elsa," He quietly said, holding Rapunzel's wrist in an attempt to find a pulse. "She's gone. I'm so sorry."

Elsa was still for only a moment, then she shattered the glass of Pabbie's laboratory with a final snap of her fingers. Throwing patience to the wind, she lunged through the jagged opening and swiped the syringe from the table top. When she turned around, Pabbie was already ambling to hold her back. It took every ounce of self-control to keep herself from knocking the old man away with a flick of her finger.

"No! Elsa!" He shouted, doing his best stop her from using the untested cure to everything. "That is your only chance of being cured of your condition! I can't take any more from the company!"

"Get out of the way!" She hollered back, barging past him in fury. He merely grabbed her wrist again.

"Think about what you're doing! You could condemn her to a fate worse than death!" Pabbie's pleading was bordering on unbridled anger now. It was evident there would be no resurrections without his protest, although Elsa could find no way to show that his opinion did not matter right now.

"Pabbie." A surprisingly calm voice ordered from the doorway.

They all turned as one to see Kristoff and Sven standing under the entrance arch, out-of-breath from racing to the scene but no less authoritative as they stood in uniform. No one knew how long they had been waiting and watching the scenario, but it was clear Kristoff had come to a conclusion on what was to be done now that the heart monitor had reached a flatline.

"Let Elsa give Rapunzel the cure. There's not much more that can go wrong," He advised. "She'll either stay dead, or we'll do some good."

Without waiting for further justification, Elsa rushed forward and unceremoniously stabbed the needle into the skin around the wound. The plunger was pressed down relentlessly until every last drop had disappeared into Rapunzel's body. Then she dropped the syringe, letting it smash into a thousand pieces on the floor, and she waited for a result.

For long minutes, the room was silent apart from the near-eternal ringing of the monitor. Elsa and Flynn watched the wound for any change, listening for the return of a pulse or the sound of breathing. Anything. Any sign that the person who was hurt under their watch was going to make it. But none came. They waited, from their perspective, for an age; even though in reality no more than a few moments had passed. In truth, none of them knew how long they should wait for. From experience, Elsa and Kristoff knew that dermal injuries could be mended within seconds. However, when it came to an entire person there was very little they could presume.

All the while, Pabbie waited with them. He secretly hoped that the gambit would work, even if it was a massive trespass in science. It was only his moral compass and his current anger which kept him from agreeing with the plan. In any other incident, he may have been more willing to help Elsa. But not to this extreme.

"Elsa," Flynn finally broke the uneasy calm tentatively after nearly ten minutes. "I don't think it's…"

He didn't need to finish. Elsa knew. It hadn't worked.

"No," She whispered. "No!"

Ice crystals began to crawl up the walls, leaving a jagged path of icicles in their wake. The laboratory carriage was encased in snow as gale force winds began barrelling down the underground tunnels. When Elsa slumped to the floor, not even bothering to mask her despair as she would normally, razor sharp stalagmites began forcing themselves up from the ground in patches. Sven howled at the storm brewing underground and tried to pull Kristoff away from the unnatural forces.

The noise Elsa created with the rapid growth of cracking ice and booming wind drowned out the noise of the heart monitor. When it silenced, no one noticed.

"Elsa!" Olaf yelled over the storm blasts. He had dropped to his knees with her, ready to keep her from the edge of panic and eclipsing self-loathing. "You did the best you could!"

But the storm raged on, bringing down ceiling tiles and rocking the laboratory on the tracks. The strength of the ceiling under Elsa's onslaught was suddenly called into fearful question by the others. It seemed the Snow Queen was hell bent on tearing down the station through the sheer power of despair.

Then, surprisingly, a soft hand was lain on Elsa's shoulder and the blizzard ended. Elsa thought through all the possibilities of who could be holding her arm fearfully. The hand was too small to be Flynn or Kristoff, too smooth to be Pabbie and too dainty to be Olaf. For a moment, Elsa was scared that Anna had somehow found her way into the Ice Palace and was about to judge her for her failure. But then she looked up and was beautifully surprised to see Rapunzel staring at her with a confusion comparable to someone who had been suddenly woken.

"Elsa?" Rapunzel partially slurred, taking in the image of her reserved cousin dressed in the garb of the Snow Queen. "What's going on?"

"Oh my God…" Flynn trailed off, equally as shocked to see someone who was meant to dead sitting up and inspecting the room with no understanding of how she came to be here. But the heart monitor ticked away at seventy-two beats per minute to audibly show her health.

Even Pabbie leant in to see what had happened to Rapunzel. In the moments they had not been focussing on her, the serum had apparently taken effect and brought her back from whatever stage of dying she had been in. Not daring to believe it had actually worked, Elsa lifted the blood-soaked hem of Rapunzel's shirt to find a smooth expanse of unscarred skin on her abdomen. Even the dried red had vanished from the non-existent injury. And she was _alive_. There was absolutely no doubt Rapunzel was a living, breathing teenager who had just been shot.

"'Punzel!" Elsa exclaimed, drawing her beloved cousin into a hug which could quite possibly squeeze the life from her again. "Thank God! I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry?" Rapunzel asked, not quite knowing why Elsa, who had spent her entire childhood locking herself behind doors, was now hugging her like she'd been gone. "Elsa… Are you the Snow Queen?"

"Score one for observation there, Shorty." Flynn jibed, doing his best to hide whatever strange emotion he felt towards her survival.

"Eugene?" While her memory leading up to her shooting was perhaps sketchy, it was apparent that Rapunzel was still capable of recognising the important people in her life.

"Forgive me for interrupting," Pabbie piped up, drawing everyone's attention to him now. He knew there would be no good time to speak now, but it could not be left unsaid. "While I am monumentally glad that Ms Engel is well, I cannot ignore what you have done. You have transgressed the most important aspects of my work. Everything I have done so far in this crusade, no matter how irresponsible you have been, Elsa, I have advised and guided you to the best of my ability. I have always tried to understand your reasoning, and I had hoped you appreciated my contribution. But what you all did tonight was reckless. Completely reckless. Anything could have happened to Rapunzel. We are lucky that she is healthy now. Elsa, there is great potential in what you do down here and what Flynn Rider does in Corona, but there is also great danger. Do not forget that."

Without much more, Pabbie tugged off his surgical robes and marched out of the station. Kristoff didn't attempt to stop him, but nodded his appreciation of Pabbie's efforts. Behind him, Olaf gave a shy, childish wave to the man he had come to see as a colleague. Elsa got the feeling that they wouldn't see Pabbie in the Ice Palace for a while at least.

"Erm, sorry," Rapunzel said after the assembled team had absorbed what had just happened. "But what _is_ going on? Elsa, are you a superhero?"

"Yeah, I might be," Elsa admitted slowly, even if Pabbie had just heavily criticised her work as a vigilante. "But, listen, it's been a long day. Kristoff'll take you back to Anna's and I'll explain _this_ tomorrow. Okay?"

* * *

When Rapunzel had been escorted through the doorway by Officer Bjorgman, she had been immediately enwrapped by Anna in a tight, apologetic hug. Profuse blame was taken, tears were shed and stories were told. Rapunzel had seen it suitable to omit the fact that Elsa was the Snow Queen, as well as follow the recommendations of Kristoff when he informed her that Anna should under no circumstance know anything pertaining to the hero's identity of location, as well as the fact the brunette had been dead for quite a few minutes. Still, Anna had been attentive to the apparently gripping tale of Flynn Rider and the Snow Queen beating up the Stabbingtons. Notes were also taken, even though nothing too personal to the heroes had been mentioned.

It was hours before Rapunzel was finally able to excuse herself to her bedroom. To her, the entire events of the day were surreal. In the hour it took Elsa to arrange cover stories and ways to hide the bullet hole in Rapunzel's shirt, Flynn had told the story of death and resurrection. The idea was quite frankly remarkable, to the point she thought the idea of returning from the dead had been made up to entertain her. But there were factors which Rapunzel couldn't explain and she certainly remembered Gregor Stabbington reaching for a gun. Still, to think she'd experienced what few seldom lived to talk about was crazy.

Outside the door, Anna was on the phone to Hans. They were talking about the amazing rescue the now named Snow Queen had performed to get Rapunzel away from the Stabbingtons before moving on to something else which had apparently dominated the news. Something to do with a 'GDU', whatever that was.

Rapunzel, on the other hand, prepared herself for bed. After the ordeal of being trapped for thirty-six hours in clothes covered in dirt and blood, a clean set of pyjamas was quite possibly the greatest single gift there could be in the world. She took a moment to inspect the site of the bullet wound, only to see a smooth, unblemished stomach. The tale Eugene had told made her wonder just how mad of a world she had become tangled in.

Out of nowhere, there was suddenly a gently rapping on the window pane. Rapunzel jumped at the unexpected noise, dropping her pyjama top back over her abdomen when she realised who it was. The window was stiff to open, but once she had finally pushed it up (with the help of her guest) she was free to lean out and converse with someone she was very happy to see.

"'Sup Shorty?" Eugene Fitzherbert asked from his seat on the fire escape. He was dressed in the baggy hoodie and ripped jeans he had worn on the train into Arendelle, with his duffel bag lying nearby. His hair fluttered in the light night breeze as he shot her a handsome grin.

"You will not _believe _the day I've had," She giggled, finding it easier to process the trauma dealt to her if she laughed about it with someone who understood. "These guys wouldn't leave me alone, there was a scuffle, and it turns out my cousin fights crime in her spare time. How was your day?"

Eugene chuckled at the familiarity, although his eyes betrayed his concern for her.

"Well, I got into a bar fight over a girl," He listed, never taking his eyes off her smile. "Woke up in strange place, which isn't the first time. Got into another fight. I won, by the way. Then I had a bad hour or so, but it's all in the past now."

Rapunzel laughed until the last point on his list, at which point she broke their eye contact and looked ashamed of herself. Although she couldn't quite recall, she was fairly sure she had leapt in front of that bullet to reduce pain to people. Now she knew that the pain caused by that act was far greater.

"Yeah. Thanks for that," Rapunzel bashfully said, keen to avoid whatever expression Eugene had. "I don't know what came over me. Turns out the bullet wouldn't have hurt Elsa anyway."

"What came over you was bravery," Eugene warmly stated, giving her a playful nudge on the shoulder. "You saw catastrophe coming for someone, and you made a judgement based on what you knew at a huge cost to yourself. In my books, that's a hero. And it's a hero's job to keep everyone else safe."

Upon processing his words, Rapunzel fixed her gaze on him anew with a look of new self-belief and a lopsided grin, which he returned. He couldn't help but notice how wide her eyes became in the starlight. There was something new in her, and he was glad she had a direction on her identity.

"So…" She began, nodding towards the duffel bag. "Are you heading home?"

"Yeah," He admitted, kicking the bag lightly. "It's been a week. I think Maximus will be up to his eyeballs in crime by now. I really ought to go help him out."

"Doesn't he hate you?"

"Only a little," Eugene defended. "A smidge, really. He knows I'm practically holding that city together."

"But what if he doesn't?" Rapunzel continued to poke his ego, enjoying the wit of her new friend.

"Then I guess I'll come back to Arendelle. Elsa said it's fine. Said she'd love to have me back. Best teammate she's ever had." He claimed, gesticulating wildly to imply a grand scale of his importance.

"Did she though?"

"In subtext. I'm allowed back, at least," He paused briefly, casting her a hopeful glance. "Are you coming back to Corona as well, or…?"

"Ah," Rapunzel stammered. She hadn't actually given any thought to whether she'd be staying with Anna much longer. It seemed she was more than welcome as unwarranted consolation for what had happened, and she did want to see more of Arendelle than a day trapped in a warehouse allowed. She excused herself from the window for only a moment to collect a pencil and paper. "I think I am. I still need to find out the whole story from Elsa. But, give me a call sometime. Or text me your number."

Eugene took the scrap of paper with a scribble of digits almost disbelievingly. He didn't quite know how to respond to such a gesture.

"Sure, I will," He promised. A church tower chimed the hour in the distance, revealing just how early it had become and prompting Eugene to reach for his bag. "I guess I better go. Let you get some sleep. Erm… Any messages you want me take back to Corona for you?"

Rapunzel hid her disappointment at his departure with the same easy smile she had held throughout their conversation.

"Nah, you won't know who they're meant for anyway." She declined, surprising him by clambering onto the fire escape with him.

"Are you sure?" Eugene asked. "I could always make sure your frog was fed."

She kissed him on the cheek as a thanks for all he had done, a motion which made him pause for a moment. Internally, he chastised himself for looking so foolish. It wasn't anything meaningful, after all.

"Chameleon." Rapunzel corrected as she slid back down into her room.

"Nuance." Eugene returned, before giving her a wink and sliding down the fire escape. He was gone within minutes.

Rapunzel waited for a full minute as he descended the building and breathed in the city air she quite frankly counted herself as lucky being able to smell. It was a very surreal moment as she felt the air flow down her throat, into her lungs and back again. She supposed everyone must have a moment when they felt the same sensation in their chests as proof of life and realised 'I am here'.

Once her nostalgic mood had passed, Rapunzel ducked her head back into her room and attempted to shut the window. She didn't understand how Anna could live in a modern building which did not have a fully and easily opening window as it jammed several times. It was rather annoying as the glass pane would only slide down in shudders. Eventually, it got to the point where Rapunzel was having to apply all her weight onto the frame in order to judder it down when she suddenly lost grip and tumbled over the window's runners.

The action sliced her hand painfully in her descent, although it was a sensation she hardly noticed when held in comparison to fuzzy memories of searing pain in her stomach. Blood welled on the open cut in a vivid red river and Rapunzel found herself reaching for the tattered remains of the tank top she had worn to _Sauna _two days ago. Having wiped the blood off, during which the niggling ache of the cut subsided, Rapunzel was able to bear witness to the continued existence of the extraordinary in her life.

Before her eyes, as if a celestial artist were rubbing out a pencil line, the cut sealed itself. She could have blinked and missed the pinnacle moment when the bruising vanished.

Rapunzel came to realize that whatever Elsa did to heal the bullet wound may have had a long term, unexpected effect. Surely it was trick of the light or fatigue. After all, only superheroes could heal at the rate she just did.

* * *

"I can't help but feel," Mayor Weselton quivered at his dark desk, unaware of the White Knight's exact location within his office. "That you may have gone too far this time. The newspapers will know you exist tomorrow. An entire city will hunt for you. You killed twenty-two people."

"Let them hunt," The digital voice said from near the window. "They won't find me. And I killed _twenty-three _people."

There was _crunching_ noise from the window sill, and the Mayor had the distinct feeling that the Knight was crushing his Faberge Eggs for no real reason other than the fact he could. The Mayor felt like calling him out on this, but remembered what happened to the army of cops who had faced the same man down with guns rather than words.

"But you have everything you need now? You got the GDU?" Weselton asked, trying to pinpoint the exact moment the Knight crossed the room.

"I did indeed," The Knight assured, this time from beside the doorway. "It is safe in an undisclosed location. I had to kill more people to keep that secret. There is a risk that the Vigilante might find out before the time is right."

"And what of the Stabbingtons? The Vigilante and Flynn Rider made short work of them." Weselton tried to reason. He detested the idea of conspiring with criminals, necessary as it was at the moment.

"Yes, I suppose they did," The White Knight agreed, raising Weselton's hopes of enforcing their silence before crushing it again rapidly. "But they kept their end of the bargain and don't know too much. Not enough to track me down, anyway. I suppose we should release them and send them to Vladivostok. They shouldn't give us too much trouble."

Weselton paused as he considered this order. There was only so much that could be covered up. The timely disappearances of George Jones and Dr Facilier had been difficult enough. But a pair of twins escaping _again _was a bit of an ask.

"I trust this shouldn't be an issue." The Knight spoke, this time from directly beside Weselton's ear, causing him to shriek.

"No! No problem!" Weselton lied, haphazardly guarding his head with frail arms. "What do we do next?"

"Next?" The Knight considered this for a moment. "Next, we deal with the Vigilante. We also need to test the information from the Noble Corporation. Goddard can get what we need for it, there's still some samples left in the basement of that tower. Then we can combine the two problems. Who knows? One's bound to sort the other out."

Weselton whined at the thought of further damage to the city.

* * *

**So that was Flynn Rider. Who knows? We might see him again somewhere else. Like Corona, for example… **

**Please Review.**


	20. The Snowman - Part One

**Howdy, guys and gals! May I immediately exclaim my complete and utter happiness at being freed from the terror of exams. Suddenly the world looks so much brighter. **

**However, I must confess that I finished a week ago and I have only just got around to updating. Awkward Although I hope you can see why, given that this chapter is much longer than any of the others and has taken me this long to write. Well, the plan is to update much more regularly now that I have no other obligations for the next few months. Let's see how far I can get. **

**As for my 'weekly' responses, may I first deeply thank Stagemanagertargaryen/stalburkslovers for being my 100****th**** review! Never thought I'd get that many. As for your comment, hopefully we'll be getting more Kristanna, although it will have to coexist with Hanna for a while. Bloody triangles. And as for Flynn Rider; there's definitely something in the works now that I have all this time on my hands. I wouldn't be surprised if I published another story in the next few weeks. Many thanks for your dedicated reading.**

**To Shadowtiger999, you certainly have a lot of working theories. As always, I can't say much because it would ruin the rest of the story; but I will say that the origins of the White Knight is a strand which will be explored more later on and that a blonde Rapunzel is a possibility. I promise I will try to explore more of your other questions in the following chapters. **

**Batman1809; in regards to Rapunzel's powers, they may be a bit different from the canon (well, slightly more than a bit, but hopefully reasonable). Let me know what your impression is of her reworked abilities. (On a side note, minerbuilder12 has pointed out that Rapunzel's healing was obvious. Of course, I'd like to point out that these aren't my characters and there's only so much surprise I can give. I'm also not sure what 'roast duck' is meant to mean. This is fanfiction, not a Chinese restaurant).**

**At last, JJAndrews/JJ12; the killing thing is an important milestone and that is something the next arc will deal with. There's only so much luck you can have when you're putting your neck out trying to save a city. **

**So, without much more rambling and since I am in serious danger of falling asleep at the keyboard, I give you the new chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

The summer had reached its denouement and the associated heat was slowly cooling as autumn neared. Outside, light still dazzled through the streets and people still stayed out way into the night attending summer balls or going to clubs or finding anyway to enjoy the fading August before school, college and work resumed. Business, as always, carried on regardless of the shifting seasons; a fact Elsa Noble somewhat deplored as she was bound to the boardroom at the Noble Tower for far longer than she had expected. The blinds had been drawn over the extensive panoramic glass to keep the board members from being rendered incapable of seeing Goddard's unnecessarily long presentation on cost cutting across the company. It seemed every single identically suited man and woman sat around the table would rather spend their lives contemplating the completely artificial construct of capital than marvel at the natural world which attempted to penetrate the dingy room. This, Elsa had slowly realised over the course of the summer, was what her life would be until retirement.

Of course, there was nothing to stop Elsa from choosing not to work. Her trust fund and inheritance was more than enough to keep her steady for the rest of her life. This choice would even give her more time to indulge in her duties as the Snow Queen; a position she was becoming more comfortable in by the day. After all, taking out criminals and protecting the masses of vulnerable people in the Mountains was immediately rewarding in itself, making the physical cost well worth it. Even now, sitting on a tender bruise where a drug dealer had shot at her lower back, Elsa felt the satisfaction of keeping the group of teens he was accosting safe from harm.

Within the company, Elsa would never see the people the Noble Pharmaceuticals and other investments improved the lives of, especially not in the short term and especially as Goddard was suggesting driving up the prices for medicines. This would deny many people across the country, if not the world, the basic right of healthcare. Of course, many other governments had national organisations which provided the public the required goods free of charge, with the taxes being paid out to companies like the Noble Corporation to keep producing medical equipment. If Goddard's plan was installed, it would be an error from which the Noble Corporation might not survive. He was mad if he thought the customers would just begrudge the increased price when there were cheaper, if marginally inferior, alternatives.

It made Elsa wonder how her father had put up with the manipulative idiot for so many years. Had Adgar Noble ever been threatened by Goddard? It had always seemed the previous CEO led a united board, and was able to sway any of the distasteful members into the agreement through pure reasoned discussion. Although, Goddard had only joined in the last few years of her father's tenure and several years had passed in the interim, during which the unity had most likely fractured under Goddard's suggestions to increase profits without investing further.

"…And so, with the added income from the Maldonian Government, I predict that our cross-company wealth will increase three-fold within the next decade should we increase the price of anxiolytics and anti-depressants by forty-seven per cent." Goddard finished, pulling the most strained, shark-like smile imaginable before waddling back to his seat. He was given a polite, but not stupendous, round of applause as the lights went back on. "So what does the board have to say about these suggestions?"

There was a thoughtful pause as every present tycoon considered the details of Goddard's plan. While one of the most hateful men Elsa had ever come across, it was obvious he had been right when he told her the board did not share her views on how the company should be run. The very fact they were all thinking the outrageous increase over showed this to be true. However, while they may all have hated her, it seemed they could also not agree with each other. Every single one of them was probably thinking of some small criticism they could make in order to appear in control. If Abraham Lincoln was correct, then the company should have been in the midst of falling apart.

"Does it have to be a forty-seven per cent rise?" Jameson calmly voiced from the opposite end of the table. "Would it not, perhaps, be better to have a steady rise of, say, seven per cent per quarter?"

"I would like to know if forty-seven per cent is enough," Tennyson stated, her false nails clattering on the wooden surface of the table as she drummed her fingers in contemplation. "Especially if we're trying to stabilise company profits. Would it not perhaps be wiser to have a fifteen per cent increase per annum until the end of the decade?"

All of these suggestions, Elsa thought, would be better than Goddard's initial plan. Of course, this was still clear extortion of the masses and would backfire stupidly. If it wasn't for the threat of legal mutiny by a combined board (which currently seemed closer than ever) or the potential outcome of Elsa being labelled a borderline Machiavellian witch, she would have fired every single person she considered an idiot at this table.

In her mind, to even call them idiots was unfair. A complete business savvy could run the Noble Corporation better than the people before her, who only sought to make sure their wallets would be incapable of closing.

"By my calculations," Goddard boasted, even though Elsa wasn't certain he could actually do maths. "A forty-seven per cent increase will maximise our income when held against current projections on the economy. If we want this company to see its height from before Mr Noble's death, then this is the way to do it. Shall we put it to the vote?"

Thankfully, enough people disagreed with Goddard's percentage increase that the majority of board members were in favour of abandoning the plan. That was not to say, however, that they would abandon the idea. It was only a matter of time before Jameson or Tennyson or Bishop stood up with a remarkably similar set of recommendations for making the company rich (or richer) again. Next time, Elsa may not be so fortunate in the board dividing itself to her advantage.

Goddard crumbled over his failed business plan and took on the countenance of a very upset, spoilt child who didn't get their way. He especially sent an angered stare straight into Elsa's eyes, a move which made the ice flow through her veins as her chest tightened in pure loathing.

"Onto the last order of business," The gravelly voice of Pabbie interrupted, breaking the tense atmosphere which had focussed on Goddard after a few moments more. "Our esteemed Miss Noble would like to finalise and approve her business promoting initiative. Elsa?"

As one, the entire board turned to watch her with disconcertingly unblinking eyes. They ranged from expectation to disinterest to a thinly veiled dislike following the style of Goddard. If she had listened closely enough, Elsa was certain she could have heard every neck and eye swivel to stare at her, daring to present the piece she had prepared.

The most disconcerting of these, however, was the perpetually distant gaze Pabbie held. It seemed to be a conscious effort on his part not to continue staring at her, but instead study anything else to hand. His fingernails, his shoes, the woman who sat on his opposite side. Anything but the girl who had relied on him since childhood for guidance. This had been practically consistent since the fateful day a month ago, when Elsa had openly and angrily defied him in using the regenerative serum to resurrect Rapunzel. While on a personal level he might be able to see past this, it was the contravention of Pabbie's long-held professional ideals which he often bent enough in the course of Elsa's crusade. In the time that had passed since then he had barely spoken to her at all. He certainly had not been to the Ice Palace to assist the Snow Queen. And now Elsa was beginning to understand just how great his tactical contribution had been. If Pabbie had not quit, then the Snow Team (as she had nicknamed her small team) may have tracked down their drugs ring targets sooner and saved Elsa many bruises.

Taking the stand, Elsa placed a written contract on the table for the board to see. She took the stand with shaky legs, this being the first actual time that she had had to address the board on a particular scheme. Hopefully this would not be an abject failure. Too much time, effort and planning had been put into this for it to fail.

"As you're all aware," Elsa started, making sure to look every single one of the grey, bland people in the eye as her gaze shifted around the room. "The Noble Corporation is the focal point for the Arendellian economy. When my father and my grandfather headed this board, they made sure to recognise that and did not abuse the privilege this company's strength allowed them. Importantly, for the public, my grandfather set up the Noble Investment Scheme; whereby the profits of this company would flow into an independent loaning system as a honeypot for small businesses in Arendelle and a few other states. In return, they would advertise our subsidiary branches for our more practical products, allowing a beneficial growth of both companies involved. Since the… Death of my father, I can't help but notice that the NIS was shut down."

"It was a drain on our resources," Goddard interrupted, becoming very defensive very quickly. "The shares went down in price, and our sales hit a twenty-year low. We couldn't afford to keep propping up corner shops and newsstands."

"Well that may be," Elsa quickly asserted herself before more small discussions could break out. "But, and I have spent a long time looking into our incomes and expenditures, that cut us off from a long term stimulation in profits while also making the Mountains… Well, _the Mountains. _It hasn't gone well for either sides of the tax brackets, so I propose that we reinstate the Investment Scheme in order to remedy the situation."

"You can't be serious!" Jameson exclaimed, almost leaping from his seat. "We don't have enough money left in the budget to do what you're proposing! Where will you get the funds for these start-up businesses, hm? Are you going to cut your staff's wages for the sake of some bums opening a 7/11?"

From this, a number of unordered arguments began spewing out of the people who judged everything by the way it was dressed. Each shout fuelled another, louder statement which inspired three more people to make an additional argument based on irrelevant concerns. Irrelevant, at least from what Elsa could hear. She had no idea how Tennyson's concern about desk chairs factored into her plan in any way. Unfortunately, the screaming contest made it nigh-on impossible for Elsa to reassert her authority. Each time she opened her mouth, Goddard, Jameson and the rest would leap onto her unspoken words to take the 'discussion' even further off track.

Finally, having had enough, Pabbie rose from his seat and bellowed over everyone in order to gather the focus back onto the proposal.

"Everyone, shut up!" The old man yelled, surprising everyone with his force. "All your concerns can be solved peacefully. Personally, I think the required money could be drawn from your wages! Even if we halved them, you'd still make more in a month than the average family does in a year! So that could be the first thing to go unless you all act like you're heading a billion-dollar-company!"

It was amazing how the board members took on the countenance of reprimanded children at such dominating presence. Even Elsa was mildly alarmed at the sheer frustration bubbling under Pabbie's steady expressions. Although, it didn't help that this was the first time she had heard him speak in over a month. She couldn't help but wonder how much of that anger was to do with her.

"Now it's very simple," Pabbie continued, having effectively taken over the meeting. "We will take a majority-vote on whether we should pursue this policy or not. No one needs to cry over losing money we don't have, because we all know that between the Maldonian investment and our current income, we can manage this. So all in favour, raise your hand."

The next few moments were filled with the quiet considerations of people who were nearly human weighing up the possible advantages such a scheme would present. Thankfully, Elsa felt her position to be very strong once order had been restored, not least because of the other work she had put into the acceptance of her plan. Over the last few weeks she had tracked down over half of the board members and casually discussed the idea of the NIS. Sometimes, they were socially-conscious enough to agree naturally, while some had taken some light and clumsily delivered threats in order to concede. Therefore, it was no surprise when Elsa narrowly took the majority after Pabbie had cast his vote. By her calculations, she had fifty-two percent of the board members behind her for the moment.

Goddard was not pleased by this.

"Very well," He bitterly agreed, sliding the contract like it was a used napkin back to Elsa. "We'll look into an outside investment. If we're lucky, we may be able to put the sub-basement storage facilities to better use once we have the clean out."

Elsa paused at this comment. This was the first she had heard about a 'clean out' of the underground freezers where most of the paused research went when there was no one to continue. There were several million dollars' worth of potential product waiting in there and it was a surprise that Goddard would order a complete overhaul of the storage.

"Why are we clearing?" She immediately asked, eyebrows furrowing. "And why haven't you told me?"

"It wasn't a huge issue," Goddard faux-innocently defended. "Some of the samples lost their permits, and no one has looked into them in years anyway. We didn't want to bother you when it was only a matter of getting rid of all our stock of FRZ-52."

Elsa paled upon hearing those digits spoken aloud, by someone she regarded as an adversary, no less. During her tormented childhood years, when her parents had gone to great lengths to find a cure to her condition, she had regularly read the file her mother had kept on the cause of all her problems. FRZ-52 was the virus sample which had infected Elsa in utero, in turn triggering every issue she had encountered since birth. However, to hear that there was an apparently copious amount of the virus in the building was nothing short of an outrage to her, especially when she had been told that all the supplies of FRZ-52 had been exhausted in the course of isolating an antidote.

The stare she levelled at Pabbie for keeping this from her could have shattered stone.

* * *

_The warehouse was as dank and dirty as it had been for the past twenty-four hours, and Rapunzel felt her stomach growl in protest at the starvation. Without noting it, more blood trickled down her lower abdomen, pooling in her lap. She merely stared at the growing mess, unsure what to do about it. Should she staunch the bleeding? Should she wipe it off her shorts? It was truly puzzling in her clouded mind. The blood meant something. This was a threat to her, somehow. But the more she tried to focus, the more her thought processes slipped away from her. _

_There was a quiet whisper from nearby. Nothing too important. Some screaming. Hardly surprising in this situation. _

_A hand jostled her, arms lifted her. She thought the wind was blowing through her greasy, sweaty hair but there was no sensation on her face. All there was, all she could feel, was a horrible numbness slowly spread through her body, focussing on the burning point where the blood continued to ooze forward. The world beyond her eyes was slowly fading, meaningless now. _

"_Hey, Shorty," A familiar voice whispered directly into her ear. It was a sweet, masculine tone she wanted to continue hearing for the rest of her life. Like the call of an angel in her confusing darkness. "Stay with me. You're not going to die on me. You'll be fine."_

_Die. What did that word mean? Die. There was some unsettling meaning to, deceptive of the three little letters. Was that the end? Or could there be something on the other side? She really wanted to know, although she simultaneously thought it was too early for her to see this new side. She didn't think she really wanted to go, yet the world had turned dark despite her silent prayers. _

_All she could feel now was a cool hand pressing against her own. The hand had a deep significance, but it's meaning, like 'die', was lost now. It was just a comforting presence; like the angel voice. If the cool hand was there, then everything would be alright. _

_Except then the hand was gone. And then there was shouting as loud as breathing. The numb sensation was closing in around her, insulating her from the world. All light was gone. All feeling under her fingers was mute. The world outside slowly went to silence. And she was alone. _

_Only darkness. Only silence. _

_She couldn't see the light. _

* * *

Rapunzel violently thrashed awake when she heard the _crash_ of her water glass falling from her bedside table. It took her a few moments to recognise the dim surroundings, eventually realising that she was staring at the ceiling of Anna's guest bedroom; breathing heavily as the last vestiges of her dream subsided. It wasn't real. The darkness was real.

But it had been.

Tentatively feeling her face, Rapunzel wiped away the sweat that drenched her forehead and stuck her light brown hair to her scalp. The bedroom wasn't that warm, with the window being wide open, but Rapunzel had sweat through her pyjama shirt and there were visible stains on the sheets. All from a night terror.

She sighed in frustration, angry at yet another disturbed night's sleep. Not that she felt tired at all. Since being brought back from the brink of death, or slightly further, Rapunzel hadn't felt the need to sleep as much as she once had. In recent weeks; she would go about during the day, eat her meals, accompany Anna to wherever they wanted to go and do anything a normal person would, but sleep was now beyond her. If she really tried, she would lose consciousness for a while in something she thought was like sleep, but fatigue was just a memory to her. Bags did not form under her eyes and her thought were clear as day.

This had been only one bizarre symptom resulting from Elsa's daring actions to save her cousins. The signs had been limited at first, apart from the obvious feat of healing her hand in under a minute, but there had slowly been other signs that Rapunzel was not all she once was. Aside from not needing to sleep, physical exercise took no considerable toll on her. When she had gone running with Anna and Hans the other week, she had jogged along quite happily. At least, from her perspective. In reality, she had run much faster than her companions and much further than either of them had managed. She had been at least half a mile ahead of them before she realised was by herself, next to the river.

Additionally, it appeared that whatever Elsa had done had increased Rapunzel's metabolism to a vast extent. Most days since her abduction she had eaten twice what Anna had served, to the point where a ludicrous amount of pizza had been ordered in the middle of the night and completely demolished by the first light of day. Further to this, Rapunzel had spent one morning baking several batches of cookies from mindless hunger. That day, Anna had been working a lunchtime shift as a favour to Oaken, and had not realised Rapunzel had made such copious amounts of cake until she spotted the pile of dirty baking trays next to the sink. Not one cookie had made it through the morning. And yet Rapunzel hadn't put on any of the weight one might expect from such a vast, fattening diet.

She would exercise, eat, forgo sleep and remain static in terms of body mass (excluding the slight building of muscle in her arms and legs). It was these signs, as well as the absence of a select few other bodily cycles, that indicated Rapunzel had been lifted far beyond the normal human condition. There was just the slight issue of finding out how far reaching these new abilities were and whether they were permanent. Rapunzel enjoyed the new freedom of diet the strange abilities gave her, but remaining consistently awake was proving troublesome.

Despite her efforts, Rapunzel couldn't manage to catch Elsa alone long enough to reveal the side effects of her rescue. The cousins had been together since the discovery of how Elsa spent her nights, but Anna had also been present and it was more than clear the redhead was not to know the surprisingly well hidden secret. In hindsight, Rapunzel found it remarkable that both herself and Anna had not realised the truth.

Nevertheless, it was likely that only Elsa would be able to shed light on the exact process of resurrection and it was very hard to pin the Snow Queen down. When they did meet up for lunch or dinner or a movie, Anna would talk excitedly about having the 'girls' together and it would almost always end with Elsa making an excuse before leaving hastily. Never a chance to let her know something had changed with Rapunzel, and that the brunette needed help.

Without warning, Rapunzel's stomach growled and pulled her back to the real world. A glance at her phone told her it was two in the morning. She pretended she was not disappointed to see an empty message inbox, but instead busied herself with quietly gathering the shards of broken glass together and tiptoeing out to the kitchen in order to find a towel for the spilt water.

Tiptoeing, as it turned out, was completely unnecessary for this time in the morning as Rapunzel discovered Anna was still wide awake and staring at her corkboard of information on the Snow Queen. In the course of a month, Anna's efforts had renewed in locating the ice-flinging enchantress under the pretence of putting Rapunzel in contact with her as well. Little did she know, Rapunzel knew exactly where to turn if she wanted to thank the vigilante for her safety, it was merely that the opportunity had not arisen. As a result, the corkboard was now levied with printed articles and hand written notes recording each triumph. On the coffee table, she had laid out a map of the city; which had been marked with thick red lines and circles in order to calculate where the Snow Queen's lair might be in relation to where crimes had taken place and her response time to each one. As of yet, no one location was a clear choice.

Hearing the soft padding of a bare foot land on the wooden flooring, Anna span around in her seat. Evidently she was surprised at the sudden company, and judging by her appearance Rapunzel couldn't blame her. Anna's hair was beginning to unravel from her braids, while her eyes were wide, tired and not entirely focused. What little make up she wore was smudged where her hand had rested on her cheek, while there was also an unflattering trail of drool running down her chin.

"'Punz!" Anna yelled in tired joy. "What are you doing up?"

Almost shyly, Rapunzel lifted the remains of her drinks glass. It took Anna a few moments to process this image, but then she rose to her feet and followed Rapunzel into the kitchen, showing her where to dispose of the glass properly.

"You didn't step in any, did you?" Anna asked, although stepping in broken glass didn't seem as much of a problem anymore for Rapunzel. "How did you knock it off? You must have been really thrashing about," She paused in the middle, sobering up when her mind finally processed what she had thought happened. "You weren't having that dream again, were you?"

The dream Rapunzel had told Anna about the first few times she had awoken, screaming, after her abduction by the Stabbingtons was a far cry from the actual version. Anna believed that Rapunzel's night terrors were jagged memories of being taken from the club while she was under the impression being shot was an imagined worst case scenario Rapunzel's head had made up. In reality, Rapunzel's dreams had only been concerning the sensation of being shot and slowly dying. This was something the younger girl did not necessarily want to share, nor did she know how to. However, Anna seemed to understand this reluctance, and instead only focussed on preventing a violently dreaming Rapunzel from injuring herself.

"Yeah, there was a bit of it," Rapunzel related, stepping carefully around the details. "Just poor sleep more than anything. I'll be fine."

"Alright," Anna said, after a moment's thought. Whether she bought the lie or not was unclear, although 'poor sleep' was not a million miles from the truth, but the redhead still gave her a deeply worried look. "It's just… You know you can talk me about it, if you want? 'Cause I've had quite a lot of traumas over the last few years and I know I didn't handle them well. And while it's not a competition, I was kidnapped twice, so…"

Whatever thought Anna was having seemed to lose track as her voice trailed off. It was a difficult subject, and one neither of them had any qualifications to deal with. This was true, even without factoring in the crime fighting relative who had put herself in danger for them and harboured an entire goldmine of secrecy, deception and phobic complexes. But Rapunzel appreciated the offer, to the point she was very tempted to spill everything Anna on the spot. Revealing Elsa secret was strictly off limits, but artificial biological idiosyncrasies Rapunzel was experiencing were fair game to talk about. There was just the fact that one of two things might occur. One; Anna wouldn't know what to do about it and call a hospital, presenting the threat of the government finding out about the gift which was most likely illegal. Or two; Anna would throw herself into tracking down the Snow Queen even more so than she had recently, and that could do her all kind of self-inflicted damage as she studied the news relentlessly for any clue.

Therefore, Rapunzel found that she would have to coil the secrets into her very soul and hide the truth from Anna. She wondered whether this guilt of faux-ignorance weighed Elsa down similarly. After all, the blonde had had years of fearful concealing behind her.

"Thank you." Rapunzel sincerely replied, nudging Anna with her elbow so that the response did not seem artificial.

Anna nodded, having apparently expected a lacking emotional response. There were truly too few people like her in the world. She was understanding, tolerating and yet always stood up for what she believed in. It had become clear that there was nothing that would scare her away from protecting and helping those she loved. If only Elsa knew that as well.

"Have your parents called recently?" Anna asked, turning on the kettle and dropping two sachets of instant hot chocolate in a pair of mugs when she heard Rapunzel's stomach howl again. "God, it sounds like you've never eaten."

"My Mom rang… yesterday? The day before?" Rapunzel half-answered, unnerved by the unnoticed absence of her parents in her life.

After the experience with the Stabbingtons, Rapunzel's parents had finally called with frantic concern and promises to come to Arendelle on the next flight available. It had turned out that Gothel had kept Rapunzel's trip secret up until the point the teen's face had graced the Corona News Channels. This in itself had been out of character for the Nanny, as Gothel had always tried to keep Rapunzel from straying out of her home city with often graphic descriptions of the crime. That aside, when Rapunzel had inevitably felt guilty for running to Anna's, Elsa had swooped in to help. Her cousin had calmly explained the situation and promised to host Rapunzel in the Noble Mansion to keep her safe. This, of course, had been a placating lie to give the girl the freedom she so sorely desired with Anna. From the few exchanges the Engels had had, it was apparent her parents were both outraged at Rapunzel's rebellion and completely thankful for her safety. Apparently, her father had gone to the extent of running a pro-Snow Queen article for a week straight. Other than this, phone calls and communication in general had been fleeting.

"Anyway, she wondered when I was coming home. She said I needed to start my college application if I wanted to go 'somewhere good'." Rapunzel went on, with what one might consider bitterness.

"Right," Anna listened, pouring the hot water into the mugs and stirring, as well as digging in a drawer and pulling out a packet of cookies when Rapunzel's stomach gargled again. "Are you going to college? Last week you didn't seem too sure."

"I don't know," Rapunzel said through a mouthful of chocolate chips, which she had bitten off without actually realising it. Obviously hunger made people act on autopilot. "There's still a lot I want to do, and I've never been to an actual _school_ before. I want to see more before I commit myself to higher education. And with everything that's been going on… How's the vigilante hunt?"

The topic of Rapunzel's future currently felt like a vast uncertainty to her, especially with the question of exactly what was happening to her. At this point, she wasn't even sure she could go to college with the paranoia of being discovered at any moment. In every other respect, there was nothing to stop her from applying to the most prestigious of institutions. Indeed, she had considered going to a European University much like Elsa, where her reputation as a recluse did not precede her. Perhaps Cambridge or, if she practiced her Danish, Copenhagen. Somewhere exotic and cultural to a southerner like Rapunzel.

Naturally, when Rapunzel didn't want to be the focus, it seemed easy to ask about Anna's principal interest.

"Good! Yeah, come have a look," Anna immediately replied excitedly, pulling Rapunzel by the elbow to look at the corkboard standing strong in the living room. "I've narrowed her lair, if she has one, to five or six locations."

From a glance, Rapunzel could see that none of Anna's predicted locations were North Mount Station. Although, the circled spots were all within the Mountains; three of which were within two blocks of Elsa's hideout. While Anna was still a way off, it was not as far as certain people would find comfortable.

"So do you think you're close to getting to her?"

"Any day now, hopefully," Anna answered, staring longingly at the grainy picture of the Snow Queen in the midst of a street fight. "There's so much I need to say to her. Just thank her for being alive. She needs to know how thankful I am for my life and yours. Are you sure you don't know where to find her?"

Rapunzel made sure to look away at that particular moment. This was not the first time Anna had tried to find out what she had seen the night the Snow Queen and Flynn Rider had rescued her. Whether this was because Anna knew she was lying or because the redhead believed there were certain clues she would have noticed if close to the heroes was unclear, but either way Rapunzel would not say anything.

"No, they took me straight to Officer Bjorgman," She deflected, taking a pointed sip (or a swig, in reality) from her burning drink. "And then he took me to your house after getting a few notes from me."

There was silence while Anna thought this over again, giving Rapunzel a chance to study the complex notes on the corkboard. The printed articles were fairly comprehensive and covered even the cases Rapunzel hadn't heard about. Tweets about seeing the Snow Queen standing on a building, as well as several Facebook statuses showing the sparkling ice woman racing along the streets or leaping over an alleyway. Generally, these took place dangerously near the entrance to the Ice Palace. The more she looked at the guesses and estimations of distances the vigilante covered, the more Rapunzel realised Anna really was close to tracking down her sister's alter ego. Elsa should probably know about just how far this obsession had gone.

"Wait, did you say Officer Bjorgman?" Anna suddenly broke the quiet, quickly seeing a growing lead on how to find the Snow Queen. "Tall, blonde, muscular? Has a strange friendship with a dog?"

"Yeah?" Rapunzel slowly answered, worried over what Anna may have deducted from her lie. "Why?"

Anna flicked through a pile of papers pinned to the board, producing the article concerning Dr Facilier's attack on Prince Naveen at the noble Estate two months previously. Amongst the lines Anna had highlighted was the clear name 'Kristoff Bjorgman'. She then pulled another sheet out, this time a photograph taken from a street camera. While the main focus of the shot was the Snow Queen taking on a street gang, Anna instead pointed towards the uniformed figure in the top corner. Whilst blurry, it was obvious that Kristoff had arrived at the scene before a call to the police could be made.

"Because I think he's in league with the Snow Queen, if she took you to him by preference," Anna astutely reasoned. "Which means if I follow him long enough I'll find her."

"Or get a restraining order," Rapunzel tried to nonchalantly criticise. "You're not seriously going to follow a police officer in the hopes he'll take you straight to the vigilante?"

"That's a worst case scenario," Anna quickly assured, as she jotted down the potential lead that was Kristoff and pinned it to the notice board. "I'm still going to check out the other sites first. He's a nice guy, I don't want to freak him out."

Rapunzel was about to respond with more hints to not stalk the Snow Queen or Kristoff, when she was abruptly overcome by a sudden, intense pain emanating from her stomach. This was another strange symptom of Elsa's help, in that similar bouts of sickness would seize her without warning and threaten to make her collapse at any hour. So far, one had struck every day or so and normally in the early morning; but she had also nearly fallen in the street before now whilst going to dinner with Anna and Hans. She had managed to brush off the faint feelings and horrible burning in her abdomen as a unique form of hypoglycaemia to keep her friend's fears at bay. In truth, this was but one more concern for Rapunzel in the ever-deepening mystery of what had happened to her.

Hearing the first restrained groan of discomfort, Anna was immediately at her side and guided her gently to lie down on the couch. The routine questions were asked to find out the degree to which Rapunzel felt the pain on this occasion, how dizzy she was. Before she knew it, Anna was holding the box of cookies in her face in order to get her glucose levels back up. This was biologically unnecessary, but Rapunzel took a biscuit anyway and nibbled at it while trying to mask her agony as best as she could. Thankfully, Anna bought it and gave her some space.

A good five minutes passed with Rapunzel squeezing her eyes shut, hoping the ache would vanish just as quickly as it had appeared. Unfortunately, she had to wait for the internal itch to ebb away. Once or twice it suddenly erupted back again, making her gasp, but it did slowly disappear.

When she looked up again, Rapunzel was surprised to find Anna occupying herself with an old cardboard box of dress-up clothes instead of staring at the corkboard mindlessly again. She hadn't noticed the box the entire time her and Anna had talked, but it had sat quietly on an armchair waiting to be seen. At a glance, she could see that the clothes were mainly comprised of old dresses and hilariously conical hats which surely would have taken someone's eye out if used as a weapon. There were also some pirate's clothing, including an eyepatch, and a high quality Stetson for a child's toy. But what caught her eye the most was the old, dishevelled golden-blonde wig Anna had dragged out from the bottom of the treasure trove. This particular article had been favoured by Rapunzel whenever she had visited her Aunt, Uncle and cousins when they were all little; serving as the main princess disguise in their elaborate games. It had been years since she had seen it, since her and Anna had decided to stop playing such childish make-believe when they turned ten. Honestly, she thought it had been thrown away.

"Where did you get that?" Rapunzel asked, gently sitting up and reaching for the artificial hair with tentative fingers.

"Kai delivered it just after you went to bed," Anna said, fondly. Having handed the cow-licked wig, she immediately pulled out a crushed plastic knight's sword and waved it like she used to. "Apparently Elsa found it in the attic at her house and thought it would be nostalgic for us. I thought it would help distract you from the nausea, personally."

"You were right, there," The brunette commented, pulling the mess of blonde strands over her short hair. "How do I look?"

"Stupid," Anna replied with a laugh. "To think my parents pretended not to recognise you in that. God, who was that character you pretended to be? It was the one character you knew from comic books."

"Black Canary?" Rapunzel supplied, thinking back to the long-gone years of childhood. "Is that the right one? Bit of an acrobat?"

"That's her! You never got her right, but you went well with my Iron Man," Anna recalled. All of a sudden the fatigue seemed to deflate her and she yawned heavily. The past twenty minutes of interaction had apparently taken a lot out of her. "God. Oaken wants me to work tomorrow. I'm going to be shattered."

"Then go to bed, duh," Rapunzel pointed out, momentarily losing all her worries in this single moment of good-natured, teenage ribbing. "You're working from one, aren't you? You can still get a good eight hours in there."

"You're right," Anna agreed, unceremoniously dragging herself to her feet and shuffling towards her bedroom. "You don't mind if it's a lazy morning here, right? I promise we'll do something in the evening."

"It's fine, really," Rapunzel said, dragging her fully conscious mind back into the reality of her situation and seeing a chance to get some answers. "I may go for a short walk in the morning, but I'll be here otherwise."

Once Anna had disappeared into her room, it was a simple matter of reading the large map of Arendelle to figure out where she needed to go. After all, it turned out to be a simple matter of fifteen or so blocks to find North Mount Station from Queen Boulevard.

* * *

By six in the morning, the sun had already risen over the Mountains to illuminate each grey street and the few people that were going about their daily business. Any homeless people in the area made sure to move their few belongings before the hustle and bustle began or the cops came to move them along anyway. A few newsagents had opened their doors while some twenty-four hour cafes were wiping down from the graveyard shift to await fresh-faced staff. It was from one of these establishments that Kristoff emerged, bleary-eyed and laden with most likely fat-filled breakfast foods in preparation to receive Elsa after this particular night of crime fighting. Thankfully, this particular grocery store was a good two blocks away from the Ice Palace and his connection to the divisive figure of the vigilante was masked by his cunning use of his uniform. Any passer-by would think he was just an officer finishing a night shift.

With Sven trotting happily at his side, Kristoff marched the distance to North Mount Station in no time. Although, this was more than enough opportunity for him to drain his coffee; the bitter flavour failing to give him the kick he needed to stay awake. The balance between his professional life and his work with the Snow Queen was becoming ever-more taxing. In fact, as Kristoff counted back through the past few weeks, he realised that he hadn't had any time off since joining the small team. He would work at the precinct, assist Elsa in her crusade and sleep for whatever amount of time he had left at home. Not a terribly relaxing life.

But also not unfulfilling by any means. If he counted the number of criminals he caught with the police and the number he caught with Elsa, Kristoff estimated he must have the highest arrest rate on the force. Of course, more often than not another on-duty officer was tipped off to the crime, but it wasn't recognition Kristoff was looking for. His duty was to keep people safe.

Additionally, not every night was in the pursuit of murderers and dealers and muggers. A gym (including a salmon ladder) had recently been installed on one of the platforms so some nights Elsa and Kristoff took to training whilst Olaf researched the cases they were following. With this in mind, Kristoff couldn't help but feel he had everything he needed; although there was still a longing for something. Something he just couldn't define as he wandered towards the abandoned entrance that morning.

"_Kristoff, Elsa's just getting back to garage," _Olaf reported through the ever-present ear piece. "_I think she may need a hand. She took some real punishment."_

As Olaf told him this, the familiar motorcycle roared past him and rounded the corner into the old workshop which housed the Snow Queen's signature vehicle. While the view was fleeting, Kristoff managed to spot that Elsa was slumped over the handlebars in an obviously tired pose. However, this did not stop her from quickly limping back to the entrance before Kristoff could follow her to assist. Her breathing was slightly more laboured, and she cradled her right arm at the elbow. A bruise was also appearing at the top of her collar in the alarming shape of a fist. Evidently the Noble Corps CEO would be wearing high collars and scarves for the foreseeable future.

"Now do you see why I wanted to help you?" Kristoff asked when she got within earshot. "Enraged druggies are not going to hold their punches for a woman."

"I managed it," Elsa defended, brushing past him and descending into North Mount Station. "Captain Latimer will have a drugs ring behind bars and the people will be safe. What did you do all night?"

"Slept on that camp bed and listened to you beat those guys up," He honestly answered, not liking how Elsa shuffled with her weight predominately on one foot. "Come on, let me give you some help."

Catching up with her, Kristoff pulled Elsa's good arm around his neck before threading his free hand under her opposite shoulder. To her credit, Elsa didn't protest the physical contact but did keep her palms facing away from Kristof to protect him from her potentially unruly powers. It seemed that, slowly but surely, Elsa was coming to enjoy Kristoff's company more than a simple 'work' acquaintance. In Pabbie's absence, he had become an important tactical advisor and was always reliable in his response to her calls. There was also the added bonus that he and Olaf remembered her preferences when it came to post-fight celebratory foods. From the smell of the paper bag under his arm, Elsa was sure he had bought her another box of _pain au chocolat_ when he really didn't need to. She would have gladly paid for all of it.

"Any idea what the damage is?" Kristoff asked after a few minutes of quiet in the long corridor.

"A lot of them had guns," Elsa answered, hissing when she stumbled on her bad leg. "So there'll be some bruises up my shin. And my back. And my arm. And my chest. And-…"

"Alright, you have a lot of bruises," Kristoff surmised, not needing details of where every wound was. "Are you just as blue under the suit?"

"I'd rather not check. Do we still have painkillers?" This, as expected, was Elsa's main concern following a night in the city. Unfortunately, without Pabbie they didn't have the access to the vast amounts of hospital medications they required. There were only so many boxes of anti-inflammatories and ice-packs one could buy before a store became suspicious.

"We've only got a few left, as far as I know," Kristoff guessed. Taking out Arendelle's law-breakers was highly taxing to Elsa, and he didn't like to think about how many drugs they had to pump into her after a particularly bad night. That was meant to be Pabbie's job. "Do you still want them?"

"No, it's fine. I'll just deal with it." Elsa assured, although her hiss of pain said otherwise.

They finally entered the hub of the Ice Palace, where Elsa could rest and tuck into her breakfast in peace. In the intervening weeks, the room had been refurbished further to now include decorative arches over the entrance ways and beams of ice across the ceiling. Such covering gave the light a more translucent quality and shined over the rest of the frosty surfaces. The floor had also been given the fractal pattern of a snowflake to cover the round space. Sceptically, it might be considered that such decoration was redundant for the lair of a 'public enemy', but it made the old station more homely for the Snow Queen. She did, after all, spend most of her time here.

"Hey! Well done!" Olaf excitedly congratulated from his computer terminal. Although this was a feat Kristoff thought was impossible, it seemed the pale man had actually become more ecstatic over the most trivial of things. Almost as if he was eager for a certain event to occur. "The police picked up the dealers and are now investigating the manufacturing facilities they set up! Wouldn't be surprised if they called you in soon, Kristoff!"

"What a way to start a weekend." Kristoff deadpanned, placing the bacon sandwich he had bought on Olaf's desk and retreating to study the news feeds on the opposite wall.

"I've also organised the storage for all those suits while you were tracking the dealers down!" Olaf proudly exclaimed, although there was really no reason for such a statement. In Kristoff's opinion; Olaf could have spent more time keeping track of Elsa's adversaries than tidying a wardrobe. "Did you know there are purple and green versions of them down there? You could add some more variation to your costume!"

"Olaf, I appreciate it," Elsa kindly replied, massaging her sore elbow and sipping at a carton of orange juice while Sven emptied a dog's bowl underneath the desk beside her. "But I really think changing suit colour is unnecessary. God knows I'll just be even more visible if I wore green. Did you get any more on our White Thief?"

The 'White Thief', or, as Olaf pointed out, Knight, had practically vanished since his highly public attack on the convoy from Arcadia City. No matter how far they searched police records and civil surveillance, there was simply no trace of such a dangerous man. Not a single camera had caught him and there were no one had seen him anywhere in the area of the city. This angered Elsa quite extensively as a result, as she highly suspected the Knight of arranging Rapunzel's abduction and causing, by extension, her to be shot. However, with this in mind, Elsa realised that the Stabbingtons had been directed to Rapunzel specifically in order to distract the Snow Queen from the White Knight's attack, which in turn meant that the villain knew or highly suspected the Snow Queen's true identity. How else would the Knight have certified her preoccupation? Therefore, finding this man was high on Elsa's agenda yet the evidence to his location was lacking. It was entirely possible he wasn't even in the city.

"Sadly, no!" Olaf's paradoxical glee at the failure went unnoticed, having been accepted as a norm by now. "I can't even find out what it was he stole, not unless you want me hacking into the CIA and FBI!"

"That's a bridge we'll only cross if it's absolutely necessary," Kristoff recommended, studying the grainy still from what little video evidence he could pull from the precinct computer. The footage of the Knight cutting armed and armoured officers still haunted him. He had been friends with some of those men, and having to attend the funerals was a major wake-up call to the danger he was willingly walking into. "I'd suggest he's foreign. Perhaps from China. There's a terrorist cell operating near the Mongolian border, if the rumours are true, and he might be one of them. Certainly fights like it."

"He fights like me," Elsa pointed out, having also seen the fluid movements of combat and recognised the similarities between heir approaches. They weren't obvious to the untrained eye, but to someone in the know it was like looking at a signpost. "Those were moves my trainer used in demonstrations. Although he never got around to teaching me fencing."

"Where did your trainer go after he finished with you?"

"I've no idea," Elsa realised. At the time her formal lessons had ended, she was far too preoccupied with other problems to keep tabs on where he went next. "Just vanished from the face of the earth. Quite a lot of his students did as well."

"Might Pabbie know?" It was Kristoff who tested the waters with this thought, daring to mention the old man when his name hadn't been spoken in the tunnels in weeks. "He seems to have kept track of everything in relation to all this. It could be worth asking him."

Elsa's silence spoke volumes on her willingness to approach her old friend. Too much tension still remained for that to be an option, and while Elsa wasn't particularly stubborn by nature, Pabbie had the comparative compromising skill of a boulder.

"Have you said anything to him since that night?" Kristoff probed, partially feeling that this wariness had gone on long enough. "I'll be the first to admit this, we need him down here."

"It's not that simple," Elsa calmly insisted, staring into the ice-glazed wall rather than at her friends. "He's been keeping secrets from us, from me. Really important stuff as well. I only found out last night that the original frost virus is still-…"

"Excuse me?" A new, painfully familiar voice asked from the doorway. "Sorry, am I interrupting?"

Three pairs of eyes shot around to the Ice Palace entrance, each had their own reaction to the appearance of Rapunzel. Kristoff, having fallen back on training and reflexes, had leapt to attention with a defensive posture before realising it was a quite harmless girl who could be trusted with the secret. After that, he relaxed and held an expression of neutrality; not adverse to her presence, but not happy about it either. Elsa, who was immediately worried that some horrible fate had befallen Anna or there was a similar problem facing them, sprang to her feet but felt her body cry in protest. In end, she was pale and wobbly on her legs, scared for the worst case scenario her mind projected. Olaf, in complete contrast, was overjoyed at seeing Rapunzel again, and rushed forward to take her by the hand, lead her to a vacant chair and offer what little food they had in the hub.

"Rapunzel! Hi! How are you?" Olaf chirped, motioning to the dwindling amount of pastry left on the tray Kristoff had procured.

"Rapunzel!" Elsa cried, needing confirmation her fears weren't getting the better of her. With the limited intel on the White Knight, she didn't know what could happen. "Is everything alright? Is Anna okay? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no, she's fine, Elsa," Rapunzel unsurely replied, shocked at the impromptu interrogation. "She's just sleeping at home. I came to see you, actually."

Gradually, Elsa relaxed back into her chair and hissed in relief as the weight was taken off her wounded leg again. With one hand covering her face, she sighed off the worry of danger to Anna to focus more on the intrusion in her 'work'. Simply being there put Rapunzel in danger. The further away her cousin was from this madness, the better. Of course, there wasn't much worse than the agony of being shot.

"Couldn't you have just called?" Elsa asked, exasperatedly. Despite her reservations, the look of hurt on Rapunzel's face at the rebuff still stung.

"You… You never pick up?" Rapunzel pointed out, taking a careful step towards her deflated cousin. Upon noticing the boldly developing bruise at the hem of Elsa's collar, the brunette reached out and carefully brushed the discoloured area with her fingertip. "Oh my God! How did this happen?"

"A drug cook had her in a chokehold!" Olaf exclaimed with glee, remembering the aerial view of the exchange he had received from the alleyway camera. "But then she dropped her weight and literally flung this guy, who's like twice her size, over her head!"

Elsa instantly recoiled from Rapunzel's touch, breathing heavily. The two strands of her life were coming too close together for her comfort, especially when there was potentially a mastermind aware of her family members at large. Any recognition of the physical costs in her crusade was another jarring reminder of the fact that Elsa could barely protect herself from a gang. There was a rapidly fading chance of her being able to keep Anna, Rapunzel and everyone important to her safe as well.

"What's wrong? What's the problem?" Elsa asked, realising this would be the quickest way for her to get Rapunzel away from this life without destroying what weak relationship they had.

"It's uh…" Rapunzel started, glancing at Olaf and Kristoff nervously. Despite the relative lack of a detrimental problem, she still felt this should be a private medical discussion. It was, after all, in relation to a medication. "That… Thing, you did to me. After I was shot. Do you know if there were any side effects? I know Pabbie said something about possible dangers, but do you know if they're severe or anything?"

"Why?" Elsa shot up from the chair and latched onto Rapunzel's sleeves, intently studying her cousin's eyes for any sign of deteriorating responses. This had been just one of many things to play on her mind since that fateful night, with Pabbie's warnings echoing in her mind. As always, the choices she made were coming back around with unintended outcomes. "What's happened? Are you sick? Blood? Pus? Vomit?"

"Erm… No?" Rapunzel answered, becoming alarmed under the impression that these were likely developments of whatever was happening to her. Little did she know that the vigilante team were just as clueless. "I've just been sleeping less, eating more and doing a lot of exercise."

Kristoff scoffed. "That just sounds like a healthy lifestyle," He pointed out, one eyebrow raised in question. "Are you sure you're not just having a balanced diet?"

"In the past week I've slept ten hours and for breakfast I ate two boxes of pop-tarts." Rapunzel deadpanned, twisting a short lock of hair in a manner which suggested this behaviour surprised even herself.

"Okay…" Kristoff said after a moment to digest this news. "You look good on it?"

"Has this been," Elsa tried to say, already silently choking on the repercussions of her choices. "Has this been happening since the Stabbingtons?"

"Around then, yeah." Rapunzel stated, feeling useless in the lack of specific information. Other than the incident with the cut, the symptoms had started appearing about forty-eight hours after her resurrection. However, given that the treatment for the bullet wound had apparently involved regenerating the damaged tissue she had merely believed the healing of a scratch as a simple prolonged effect. She really hadn't tested this particular ability again, given that years of gymnastics had given her a grace which prevented her from having physical accidents.

Elsa covered her face with both hands and exhaled heavily. This was not what she needed right now. Ideally, the entire superhero business would never have occurred in a perfect life. But the forces of the universe always had other ideas to what Elsa thought would be favourable.

"Is there- Is there anything else? Pain, or anything which could be an issue?" She asked, hoping that her cousin was not going to suffer from an unclassified serum. In her preparation for taking over the Noble Corporation and her research as a child, Elsa had read about the horrible torment human trials of medications sometimes brought to its subjects.

"There is- Well, sometimes… I get a stinging in my side and I get really dizzy, so… Yeah. I guess there is." With every description and response, Rapunzel got paler in fear of the abstract knowledge Elsa presented.

"Right, right," Elsa said without really being able to identify a solution. This was meant to be Pabbie's department. She really just regarded herself as the muscle in their team. "Erm, Olaf, can you take a blood sample. Pabbie taught you that, right?"

Olaf was actually rather eager to assist, and as already on his feet to dig out a vacuum-packed syringe and a tourniquet from Pabbie's old desk. It said a lot about his experiences in North Mount Station that a man who was more qualified to work with computers than with people was able to expertly draw blood from Rapunzel's arm. As he did this, Kristoff saw that both the present women needed a distraction from their quiet fears over what was afflicting the younger girl and choose the calm, abysmal moment to satisfy his own, benign curiosity.

"So, Olaf," Kristoff deliberately began catching Rapunzel's attention as the needle pierced her skin. "How's it going? Anything new with you?"

"Oh, nothing much!" Olaf chimed, keeping an eye on the blood slowly filling the glass case. "Bit sad summer's nearly over! I love summer! But my brother's coming to visit, so that'll be fun! I haven't seen him since he went on his tour of duty! He's arriving at about five!"

"You have a brother?" Kristoff queried in amazement at the same time Elsa looked up and asked in a voice he could only name as dread-laden; "Marshall's coming?"

"Yeah!" Olaf ambiguously answered both questions simultaneously, oblivious to Elsa's thinly veiled feelings on the matter and Kristoff's surprise. Thankfully, it was at this moment he withdrew the syringe from Rapunzel's arm; stopping momentarily to inspect the puncture mark with minor puzzlement when he couldn't locate it. "His first time in Arendelle! That reminds me, I'm having a get-together for his reception, so you're all invited to mine tomorrow! You can come too, if you want, Rapunzel! Bring Anna!"

The trio shared a look as they analysed the tentative links between them in the real-world. Surely Olaf must have realised that there would be no plausible explanation for both him and Elsa being in contact with Kristoff at all, much less have all three of them at a party with Elsa's sister; who wasn't aware of their friendship. It was an incredibly complex situation that had arisen and one that did not translate well into a social setting.

"Olaf," Elsa started, trying to divide her reservations about meeting Marshall again from her consciousness. "There are going to be some difficulties with explaining how we all know each other. I mean, you brother may not care that you know a cop, but there are certain people they might."

"I did think about this," Olaf admitted, losing none of his trademark cheer. "And Anna doesn't know that me and Kristoff know each other! And you could just pretend that you haven't seen Kristoff since whenever! Please, Elsa. You're really the only people I actually know in this city."

Kristoff could see how that statement pulled a particular thread in Elsa's elaborate and quite likely unhealthy web of guilt. Personally, the cop had not chosen to say anything about his overwhelming commitments to the team; mainly because he had Sven as a companion and he didn't want to know half the people in Arendelle. Olaf, on the other hand, was new in Arendelle and had met relatively few of the people; a fraction which was reduced greatly by the near constant working in the Ice Palace. The fault for this, even if it was not a detrimental occurrence, principally rested on Elsa for pushing for help in her crusade. But to Kristoff it seemed like a worthy sacrifice for the greater good. Besides, Elsa and Olaf had been friends for years. There wasn't really any reason for a wider circle even if alter-egos didn't come into it.

"Fine," Elsa conceded, making it sound more like a chore than a relaxing mixer. It made Kristoff wonder exactly what this Marshall was like. "I'll come. Rapunzel, are you coming?"

"I guess, yeah," Rapunzel agreed, although she had largely been in her own head for the last few minutes considering the strange complexity she had been drawn into. "It'll do Anna some good to get away from the apartment. But you may want to take this chance to distance Kristoff from the Snow Queen."

Elsa and Kristoff looked at each other, before simultaneously asking why this was a requirement.

"Anna's caught on that, more often than not, you're not too far away from the Snow Queen's fights," She explained to Kristoff, with an expression which made it obvious she was mentally punishing herself for betraying Anna. "She's considering following you, because she really wants to find the Snow Queen."

In the resulting tension that fell over the small group that morning, none of them noticed that the bruise on Elsa's neck that Rapunzel had brushed abruptly began to fade. Within minutes, the horrible blue patch of swollen flesh had masked back into the pale alabaster of her neck.

* * *

As the afternoon wore on, the Arendelle Train Station remained steady in terms of the rate of people exiting and entering its old stone walls. Looking on from above, he roughly counted up the number of departures and arrivals as equal, mainly in sheer boredom. This wasn't going to be a difficult job, and he could afford to relax in his vigilance. After all, there was only person for him to keep on guard for, while there was one other man he was awaiting the appearance of down below. His presence was entirely a formal insurance that the liberated druggie would stay in line and complete the task. Even then, if the scum did deviate from the prescribed plan, it wasn't the end of the world. There were thousands of people in this city to work with. This was merely to make things interesting.

"Now, Jay," The White Knight breathed, not needing to use his full volume to catch the twitching man's expression. His dominating figure was enough to hold the attention, especially as the white and gold had been traded in for a darker, heavier blue-and-heather grey suit in the style of a greatcoat. As always, the sword hung from his waist as a reminder of his control. "Captain Latimer tells me that, out of the drugs ring the 'Snow Queen' apprehended last night, you had the most experience with injections. Is this correct?"

Jay, who was so emaciated he may as well have just been a skeleton wearing the baggiest, patchiest hoodie imaginable, was remarkably non-plussed by the situation. Even though the Knight didn't care about his wellbeing, he still wondered how much dope this man had taken in the last twenty-four hours to be this relaxed. In the years following his training, the White Knight had struck fear into even the strongest of men. He would always remember the goliath of an opponent he had taken on when his master wanted proof of his commitment to learning their ways. That giant had practically shrank away when the Knight had swiftly taken his hand off before delivering the final kill. But this kid was entirely unconcerned by the mask and the glinting sword.

"Yeah… 'M a'ight." Jay mumbled, staring down the six floors to the hard pavement.

"Will you be able to inject a person without them knowing?" The Knight questioned further, scanning the dispersing crowds of arrivals.

"In a fight, yeah, I guess." He was infuriatingly non-committal over the strange scenario. It made the Knight marginally more fond of the Mayor, who always gave immediate answers. Although, that fondness was akin to how Poseidon may have viewed Odysseus; entertaining and helpful in some regards.

"Very well then," The Knight declared, pulling a syringe filled with a translucent blue liquid from his sash and offering it to the junkie. "What I require of you is simple. I want you to inject _this_ into a specific target, who should be walking out of the station any second. Make it look like a mugging, outright attack him; do whatever you have to. In return, I can ensure your freedom and a cash reward. Failure will result in your immediate, unforgiven execution. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah."

The Knight almost turned sceptically at this very underwhelmed response to a clear threat on Jay's life. Jay just stared back at him, absentmindedly. If the Knight peered intently enough, he may have been able to see a trace of a money-fuelled determination, but outwardly there was no notable change in the boy's countenance. There was almost a reluctance in the Knight to release the syringe to those relaxed hands, but he did so regardless. This was not the only sample available, and there would be other chances.

Swinging back to the view of the street, the Knight pulled out a set of military binoculars from his sash and focussed the lenses on the hint of his target. It was time. The dusty blonde hair and stern features matched the records he had studied in preparation. Walking out of the station, and turning to the immediate right, the Knight followed the man with his finger while also producing a photograph for Jay to take.

"That man over there, the one in the army jacket," The Knight instructed. "Got that syringe into his system, without him knowing, and I will reward you handsomely."

Spotting the purposefully walking soldier from this distance, Jay practically leapt back down to the open stairwell and barrelled through the building. This left the Knight to continue following the target's progress with the eyes of a hawk, calculating how he, personally, would take on this man who had evidently been through a number of conflicts. The most simple way would be to starve him of oxygen by sneaking up from behind and then inject him in the side when he lost sensation. Of course, Jay would most likely be less than subtle.

And less than subtle he was. The Knight physically cringed when he saw the druggie literally tackle the soldier to the ground to a less than successful extent. The soldier was immediately outraged by the intrusion of his personal space, succinctly striking Jay square in the face with the patience of a hungry bear. To his credit, Jay struggled to keep hold of his much larger adversary, and in the scuffle the Knight managed to spot the flash of the needle stabbing into the soldier's shoulder. Thankfully, the soldier didn't feel, but he did spend a little while beating the hindrance of this boy as if it really was just a random attack.

Passers-by were quickly assembling to aid him in pulling off his attacker. Jay would be back in jail by dinnertime, although the Knight fully intended to make good on his promise. He was of the opinion that a debt should always be repaid and agreements must be honoured. Besides, the White Knight could fade away from the scene in complete satisfaction at the first phase of his project being completed.

"See you soon," The Knight whispered as he stepped down from the rooftop. "Lieutenant Marshall Hansen."

* * *

**Please Review**.


	21. The Snowman - Part Two

**Okay, so, my timetable has not been as fixed as I hoped. This chapter was meant to be posted on Tuesday, but I've been ill the last few days and as such have not been in a writing mood. Sorry. To be honest, I still feel like I'm in a fish tank**. **Hopefully I can pick up the pace a bit for next week.**

**To respond to Shadowtiger999, I can say that my plan does allow for Mulan to make an appearance, although that won't be for a while yet. It will certainly be in the latter half of this story so that might mean we'll see her around Hallowe'en our time. As for Shang, his entrance would need something far grander that what I've got planned for this story alone.**

**Which brings me to JJAndrews and Toa Aerrow, who both expressed interest in where Rapunzel is going. Naturally, she's on the path to being her own superhero (since she's pretty much invulnerable as it is, anyway), but more of this will be seen once I get the second story under way. As for the comparisons to Wolverine, there may certain similarities in the characters. Of course, Rapunzel doesn't have claws or any connections to people who could steal her powers. As for her name, I literally haven't decided. Anyone with a good suggestion is welcome to tell me since I really don't have a clue on what to call her.**

**In response to Batman1809, I don't know whether I'll keep the shipping canon either. I've never really been sure on Kristoff/Elsa, but it may be fun to toy with in this setting. Although, I also have a lot of other ideas and Kristanna is useful. **

**Finally, thank you to Stalburkslover and everyone who have commended the introduction of Marshall. Hopefully I'll do him justice in this arc, even though it may appear far-fetched. Let's just say whatever the White Knight's done will cause a world of problems for everyone.**

**Once again, thank you to everyone who's read/reading this. Never saw myself getting this far. This is the single longest story I've ever written and I couldn't have done that without all of you.**

* * *

When Elsa had first arranged for Olaf to be employed by the Noble Corporation, she had made sure to set him up with an apartment in one of the safer parts of the city. In the end, Olaf had chosen a reasonably priced building not too far away from Arendelle's modestly sized China Town. His adopted home overlooked the river which ran west to east, lined with prime restaurant locations and a number of sporting clubs. The particular apartment had been chosen for the express reason that the perpetually optimistic Olaf could see both sunrise and sunset from his living room window, despite the fact that he may have only witnessed these daily occurrences three or four times in the last few months. Many people asked how he could afford such a place, or they would if he had had guests to his moderate since he had moved in. The answer to this was simply that Elsa had generously contributed to his rent out of her trust fund in a symbol of gratitude for his assistance to her during her time in Norway.

It was outside this building that, one cloud covered evening, Elsa and Kristoff arrived simultaneously. This was pure coincidence, since they had agreed that they should make separate appearances in the interest of keeping their association secret. However, once Kristoff had strolled around the last corner, following a messily illustrated map marking out the location of Olaf's apartment, and Elsa waved Kai of with instructions for him to go home, they awkwardly locked surprised eyes. Both realised that, if one waited for the other to disappear inside the apartment block before following, a theoretical passer-by would mark their behaviour as suspicious. They simply had to play it as naturally as possible. This was obviously not their first meeting, although to publically acknowledge each other without slipping up would be new territory.

Silence reigned as they entered the lobby, where Kristoff politely held the door for Elsa and a few other patrons. He nodded in restricted greeting to each new person, although they were too busy watching on in awe as a Noble calmly strode to the elevator. Kristoff had just enough time to dash in after her before the doors closed shut on the gawking residents. A few more moments passed in the quiet.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Kristoff joked, trying to lighten Elsa's jumpy mood at the social pressure she had been placed under. Had Olaf not been caught up in the excitement of his brother visiting he may have realised just how terrible Elsa felt about the impending evening. "My name's 'Kris'. I work for the ACPD and my best friend is a dog who regularly manages to get into the garbage."

Elsa did her best to smile at the introduction, but in reality she was in turmoil over the evening. As an introvert by nature, and fear-stricken by nurture, a night with the two opposite aspects of her life co-existing together was a daunting challenge she did not enjoy the prospect of. This was only the second time in her life she had attended a 'party'. However, at Prince Naveen's ball there had been certain distractions to keep the majority of her attention away from the demands of _speaking_ to a group of people. Currently there were no cases to think about, although Elsa would have gladly taken on the gang from last night again. She only had to punch them, while right now there would be Kristoff, Olaf, Rapunzel and Anna all in the same room for a number of hours. Just how secret could they keep the Snow Queen, especially when her sister was actively hunting her down?

"Where is Sven tonight?" She asked out of minor curiosity, although she grimaced when Kristoff pulled a face communicating that she had already broken their pact of secrecy. Elsa Noble would never normally the name of a stranger's pet.

"He's staying at my part time job," Kristoff cryptically answered. "I'm going straight there after I meet my friends. Hopefully he won't make a mess on the floor. I left a number of dog pads out. Who are you here to see, Miss Noble?"

"An old friend has a visiting relative, and I agreed to come to a welcome party," She replied, falling into step with the private practice of deceit. "But I have plans to go out later. One of my hobbies."

"Hobbies? How enigmatic," He commented, before giving her a glance up and down. "And may I say you look hot- _cool _tonight."

While Elsa had practically adopted a wardrobe consisting only of business attire and bullet-proof body suits, her fashion taste had by no means suffered. Growing up, her parents had made sure to show Elsa there was a 'costume' for every occasion in an attempt to keep the focus away from her odd behaviours, all of which were due to power-induced anxiety. As such, Elsa had sought to strip away the label of CEO and part-time superhero to appear as a regular twenty-something-year-old, well-to-do woman. Her current attire was comprised of a cotton blouse under a deep blue cardigan, with a green-and-purple patterned silk scarf tied loosely around her neck. This was accompanied by a pair of sea green trousers and matching ballet flats. As a marked change, Elsa had relaxed her severe bun by releasing perfectly teased blonde ringlets to frame her face. With a critical eye, Kristoff at once noticed that she was not wearing the Snow Queen costume under her clothing when a twist of her head revealed only pale skin through the gaps in her scarf. He supposed that she had also applied make up to mask any questionable marks from her frequent night outings.

"Thanks," Elsa uneasily responded, staring back at Kristoff's chosen plain, button-up shirt, jean and leather jacket combo. "You don't look _that _bad, yourself."

"_Thanks_," Kristoff scoffed back, pretending to be insulted before breaking character and asking; "So, Olaf's brother. Is there a problem with him?"

The elevator _pinged_ as it arrived at Olaf's floor, leading Elsa and Kristoff to immediately exit onto the corridor. It didn't take them long to spot their destination, given that it had been decorated with balloons in typical Olaf style, but they walked slower than normal in order to finish their discussion before plunging into the dreaded social setting.

"No," Elsa said, a little too adamantly. "Why would there be?"

"Because when Olaf mentioned him you sounded like you'd rather spend the night in a cold fjord," Kristoff pointed out, remembering the exact face she pulled the day before. Marshall's name had almost been spat out with disdain. "So what's wrong with him?"

She stopped walking completely, holding an arm out to keep Kristoff back as well. Olaf's door was a mere four feet in front of them. It was maybe due to this, Kristoff imagined, that Elsa decided to whisper her answer. Of course, it wouldn't do well to have the door open now when it appeared the two were conspiring.

"Marshall's just… Disapproving of me," She admitted, gazing uncomfortably into the distance as she remembered the man. "I mean, I've only met him twice. But it was pretty clear he caught onto certain things about me and he does not like that his brother hangs around with me because of it. Not that he's ever shown any real consideration of Olaf. It's a wonder he's visiting at all."

"Hold up," Kristoff instructed, processing what Elsa was relaying in confidence. "Are you saying that he knows about… You know?"

"No. God, no. He doesn't know I have powers," Elsa quietly confirmed, practically mouthing the last part of her sentence. "He has a much different, conservative reason to not like me."

To prevent Kristoff from asking any more about this apparent disagreement of ideals, Elsa breezed to the door and rapped her gloved knuckles against the wood. Almost immediately afterwards, the door was pulled open and the face of an intimidating man Kristoff could only presume was Marshall loomed out of the entrance.

On sight, it was at once abstract and obvious that Olaf was related to this giant. Marshall was a complete foot taller than his younger brother, and proportionately muscled from his years of military service. The hair atop his head, while the same colour as Olaf's, was kept severely tidy in a short, back and sides which must have been personal choice rather than regulation given that many of the other soldiers Kristoff had met in his time keep at least a little more length than he did. In terms of facial structure; Marshall's nose was much less prominent and his jaw was more squarely set, although his eyes were identical to the man Elsa and Kristoff had come to know. The disturbing thing about them, however, was the fact they showed no joviality, no laughter. Unlike Olaf, who could find excitement and awe in most of the things he encountered, Marshall had a permanent scowl which reached into his very soul. It seemed to deepen as he looked over Elsa.

"Hyggelig å se deg igjen, Elsa." He said in a strained voice, moving aside so the pair could barely squeeze past him in the doorway.

"Og deg. Dette er Kristoff, en venn av Olaf." Elsa swiftly replied, waving a hand towards the cop as if he was insignificant to her. As planned, she had assumed the façade of mutual ignorance.

Marshall gripped Kristoff's hand in a strong shake, barely showing any positive expression or delight at meeting a new person. "Nice to meet you, _Kristoff."_

"Likewise." Kristoff unsurely answered. When he had first imagined Olaf having a brother, the terrifying stature of Marshall had been the last thing he expected.

Once inside the apartment, they found a space which most appropriately screamed that this was Olaf's home but did not suit Marshall at all. The entrance led directly into the living room, which was plastered in warm colours of gold, green and sky blue. It was sparsely decorated with conventional furniture, since there was only one (rather small) sofa and a single, mismatched armchair. Instead, the space was dominated by a long desk beside a French window. The computerised clutter which apparently lived there was piled high at one end, since proper storage for the wires and metal casing was lacking. A large Apple Mac sat on a separate desk opposite the seating; doubling as a television and stereo system as a Spotify playlist was open on the blaring screen. Olaf had had the sense to invest in a surround sound system as well, meaning the selection of Billy Joel's songs could be heard from all corners of the apartment. In honour of Marshall's arrival, there was a buffet of Costco supplied snack foods on the freed up sections of the long desk. A pile of sandwiches notified Elsa to Anna's earlier arrival. Beyond this room, there was a small kitchen on the left and three doors on the right; leading to bedrooms and bathrooms which were not visible to the guests.

Standing amidst the sparingly tidied apartment were the other party guests, although 'party' was perhaps a stretch of the term to some of them. Anna beamed and immediately surged forwards to enwrap Elsa in a welcoming hug, with Rapunzel awkwardly holding off. It looked very much like the brunette was trying hard to not be noticed.

"Elsa!" Anna practically hollered, leading her sister to momentarily fear that she had returned to immature drinking. However, Elsa realised it was highly unlikely Olaf had any alcohol. "Wow! Am I happy to see you. I feel like I haven't seen you in ages, even though I know 'Punz and I had breakfast with you only last weekend. So much has happened! Well, not _that _much, but I'm making serious headway with the Snow Queen! I've got to show you all my notes sometime!"

When Elsa was finally released from the death grip of an embrace, she took a few moments to compose herself. Thankfully, Anna hadn't noticed how she had uncomfortably shuffled in her sister's arms. This reaction was mainly due to the lowered state of dress Elsa had on tonight, given she had forgone long sleeves but still worried her powers may manifest wildly at any given moment. Her mantra was flying around her head in order to remind her of the need to stay in control of the situation. And a large part of that control relied on a lack of physical contact with anyone. Fortunately, Rapunzel respected her boundaries and merely gave a shy smile. Evidently Elsa was not the only one uncomfortable in this situation.

However, the situation was worsened further when Elsa realised that, beyond her friends, there was a seventh presence which made the cold dread rush in a chilly rapid through her veins.

"How nice to see you again, Elsa," Hans Westerguard greeted, dropping low to plant a poisonous kiss on her gloved hand before weaving his way to Kristoff's side as well. "And Mr… Bjorgman? Was it? I haven't seen you since Anna's health scare a few months ago. What brings you to Olaf's place?"

"I could ask you the same question." Kristoff jovially responded, shaking the offered hand vigorously. Under this, Elsa could sense the same weariness she had. Perhaps she wasn't just paranoid about her old rival, and there was something slightly off about him.

It was at this point that Olaf trotted out of the kitchen carrying a large cake and spewing out an answer. He too was aware that Elsa harboured a long-festering dislike of the youngest Westerguard.

"I met Kristoff when the police were investigating the hostage situation at the Noble Tower in May, and then I bumped into him at bar after work! He's a great guy!" Olaf recommended. "And Anna asked if Hans could come! I wasn't about to say no to more people!"

"Kristoff did some of the work around Anna's kidnapping, you say?" Hans asked, this passing explanation catching his interest. His intrigue in this point was unreadable. On the surface, his care for Anna would be enough to delve more into the month old case. But Elsa couldn't help but feel there was something else on his mind. "Did they ever find out the reason for the crime?"

His anger on those last words was convincing, maybe even genuine. Regardless, Elsa could still not divide her memories of this man from the boy he had been. Although, without evidence there was no current justification for her feeling this way about Anna's boyfriend.

"Well, there wasn't much evidence in the Tower itself," Kristoff answered, making sure to keep eye contact with the attentive stare of his one-man audience. Anna had distracted herself by talking, rather unsuccessfully, to Marshall. "But from what recordings are available and the testament of George Jones on the radio, the police think it was really just a matter of ransom. The only problem I can find in this is that the numbers of the conspirators changed between the attack on the mall and the attack in the tower. Jones must have had some kind of network to make that kind of plan, maybe even someone within the Noble Corps who knew the security measures. But Captain Latimer has put the case on hold since the FBI apparently took over. All the evidence was taken as well, so there's not much I can tell you."

Hans hadn't seemed to be focusing entirely on Kristoff's answer, having turned to watch the strange interaction between Anna and Marshall half way through. In the moments it had been admitted that the police had almost no idea on why Anna had been kidnapped, the redhead had been suddenly deserted in the background. Whatever the pair had been talking about was interrupted as Marshall literally walked away from Anna mid-sentence to fill a pint-glass of water and then drain it in one go, followed by another drink before he returned to the conversation. His speech resumed as if nothing had happened, and no-one, least of all Anna, pointed out how strange that had been.

"Well, that's a shame," Hans said disappointedly, eyes once again on Kristoff. "Do you know how the hunt for the 'Snow Queen' is going? I hear Captain Latimer is trying to assemble a task force. Personally, I don't think she's done any harm. I'm extremely grateful for how she saved Anna."

Elsa's interest was suddenly caught by Hans' opinion. Any of his ideas did not matter to her in the slightest, but it was oddly consolidating to hear someone she hated compliment her on her efforts. Saving Anna, after all, had been the prime factor in her adopting the vigilante persona in the first place. And if such a disagreeable man as Hans could admit the Snow Queen wasn't harmful to the city, then there must be true justification in her work.

"It's slow going," Kristoff said, making a subtle glance of apology towards Elsa. "Mainly because everyone on the force has standing orders to hunt her down if they get the chance. She is a named public enemy. But so far, I've been the only one able to get close to her, and that was back when Dr Facilier attacked the Noble Estate. You saw yourself that she's very hard to keep hold of."

"That's true," Hans conceded, before scoffing with slight laughter. "Then again, out of the people present now only Marshall hasn't been in the same room as the Snow Queen at one point. If I were the police, I'd start with this group," He span around to Rapunzel, drawing her into the conversation with an effortlessly welcoming grin. "Say 'Punz, you met the Snow Queen only a few weeks ago. How did she strike you? Did she have any tells?"

It took every ounce of Rapunzel's self-control to not look at Elsa. Her effort to not give the game away was nearly visible, seeing as she made an overemphasised point of lancing in the opposite direction. Being under such pressure did not do her any favours, as she inevitably remembered the outcome of the fight with the Stabbingtons and the fearful nightmares which had resulted. Her voice was shaky and her countenance was that of the girl who had run away from Corona rather than the young woman who had grown more confident in Arendelle.

"Well, she was… Scary. Really intimidating. Which works well for crime fighting! It's just really… A surprise, when you see her do the ice thing! She really doesn't use technology, it's just her," Rapunzel described, trying to balance secrecy and protect Elsa's feelings. "And if that doesn't scare you to death on sight, then you're incredibly brave."

Despite her better judgement, the word 'monster' leapt to Elsa's mind when Rapunzel described her as scary. While in most cases that was an advantage, especially when confronting lower calibre criminals. Regardless, Elsa could only take mixed messages about how the public viewed her secret identity. Between Hans and Rapunzel, it was a confusing portrait of what she had hoped would be a symbol of justice.

It was only going to be made worse when Marshall overheard the subject of their conversation and inserted himself into the mix.

"Is this the freakin' mad woman you're on about?" He asked, draining yet another glass of water and forcefully handing it to Olaf, who silently obeyed the harsh order to fetch yet another drink. "I've heard about her. If I could meet her I'd tell her just how evil she is, taking the law into her own hands like that. Are we just going to allow murderers like her to 'fight crime' now? Because if we are, then this country has some serious problems."

"Are you drunk?" Anna incredulously asked, even though she was aware that Marshall had only so far had water. "The Snow Queen hasn't actually killed anyone. And it's because of the problems in this country that we need her. Believe me, the cops were more than happy to leave me with that nutjob who wanted to throw me out a window."

"Well if she hasn't killed anyone yet, it's only a matter of time!" Marshall asserted, being apparently enraged by the idea that someone could do good without resorting to death. "I've seen good men in the army do it to protect people. And I heard about that time Flynn Rider murdered a man! Kristoff, if you work with the police then you have to get rid of this freak before she does something irreversible."

There was a chorus of muddled responses to this angry evaluation of the Snow Queen. Anna, unwilling to accept that the Snow Queen had the capacity for murder, practically yelled a string of intelligence-questioning insults at Marshall. Hans, who acted in the interest of his girlfriend, defended her point of view from the guest. Kristoff, aware of how detrimental such a perspective of the Snow Queen could be to Elsa, tried to neutrally explain that the situation in Arendelle was not _that_ bad. On the side, Rapunzel quietly asked about the Flynn Rider case to no response. Terrified by Marshall's prediction; Elsa was caught in a moment of unhindered panic internally while fighting to maintain her outward control. Not wishing to take sides, Olaf simply tiptoed forwards to hand Marshall his water before retreating again.

The verbal confrontation ended with Anna marching off to Olaf's balcony in an angry huff, while Elsa went to hide in the kitchen to collect her thoughts more calmly. Seeing the blonde's distress, Kristoff followed her, leaving Rapunzel and Hans to try smoothing over the scene with a bizarrely confused Marshall. All was quiet as _Only the Good Die Young_ began playing in the background, tarnishing the homely party's atmosphere even further under the sheer awkwardness of it all.

* * *

It wasn't until a half hour later that someone finally stepped out onto the balcony to join Anna. After the fight she had merely leant against the railing encircling the modest patio, trying to reconcile what some people saw with her view of the Snow Queen. Naturally, she'd never expected everyone to think the same thing. Some people would see her as a force for good, others would make her a scapegoat. But to label the hero based on something she hadn't done was extremely unfair. There was no laid out destiny for the vigilante, only a series of choice which Anna trusted would be wisely made.

Perhaps, Anna supposed, there was an aspect of being able to relate to the Snow Queen on this matter. After all, the redhead had also experienced social branding based on things she hadn't done. In particular, the incident of 'public intoxication and indecent exposure' four years ago had given Anna an unnecessary reputation as a rich brat and a delinquent, names which had almost become true under a self-fulfilling prophecy. That particular misunderstanding had gotten far out of hand, as the media had exaggerated her tipsiness, while the rumour that she hadn't been wearing a shirt at the time of her arrest was spread in the aftermath. Surely the fact the police had let her go afterwards would have been enough to disprove the severity of these claims.

Nevertheless, people began to regard her as a delinquent back then and people were turning on the Snow Queen because of the actions of other vigilantes. Luckily, Anna had always had someone who saw the truth of these matters and back her up. So when Hans appeared beside her and put an arm around hr shoulder she didn't protest.

"Hello Dear." He said with his trademark smile which she thought made her heart flutter.

"I thought we said no pet names," Anna reminded him, laughing as she recalled what had caused that conversation. "Unless you want me to start calling you 'sideburn snuckums' again? Because that would go down a storm with your brothers."

Hans playfully shoved her as they laughed. This relationship with Hans had been very easy from Anna's perspective. They were friends for years, and both came from quite unintentionally neglectful backgrounds. She was always overshadowed by the success that was Elsa, while Hans had twelve older brothers to live up to. If she were to be truly gushy with him, she would have mentioned how he made all the locked doors in her life disappear. But that would be stupid, and Anna wanted to play this cool. No one ever said anything so cringe worthy as someone's love opening all the doors in the world. Not in this day and age. Besides, 'love' was a bit of a strong label to put on their relationship right now.

"So go on then," Hans encouraged. "What's the problem?"

Anna sighed, not knowing how she would explain what was nibbling away at her conscience. Hans was well aware of her hunt for the Snow Queen by now, and he also knew that a lot her motivation came from the possibility of one day tracking down the vigilante and thanking her for everything. If Hans were any other man, he probably would have actively tried to stop her from taking on such a hobby, but he seemed to understand her need. She thought he might want to thank the Snow Queen as well, although he had lost considerable standing in his family when the GDU had been stolen by the pale psychopath in the vigilante's absence. Regardless, he knew that whatever was bothering was related to the Snow Queen, not least because of the recent conversation.

"I don't like how some people have made her their enemy," Anna admitted, not needing to clarify which 'she' was the subject of her thoughts. "And I'm worried that Marshall will be right eventually. That she will kill someone. Intentionally or not. I think she needs someone to remind her of right and wrong, because I'd probably lose that guide as well if I had to fight thugs every night. I guess I kind of want to go help her."

"You mean, you want to be her sidekick?" Hans surmised, sounding remarkably neutral about the idea of his girlfriend seeking out a fight in a costume. His fears for her lay only a millimetre under the surface though, she knew he was just trying to objectively entertain the notion. "Be the 'Ice Princess'. Or 'Ice Maiden', if we're following the Hans Christian Andersen theme…"

"It sounds stupid, I know," Anna admitted, blushing at the thought she had actually acknowledged this wish to be true. "I mean, where would I begin? I can't do anything like she can."

"Well, that's where you start," Hans recommended, trying to address her wishes fully without giving any direct reason to actually _act_ on them. "Look at what she can do; she does the ice thing and she can fight. You _can't _do the ice, not unless there's some weird secret there, so you start with learning to fight. Elsa used to have a teacher, didn't she? Maybe you could call him up and get some lessons."

"Call Shang Li? I don't know," She said, trying to remember what had happened to him after he had finished tutoring Elsa. "I think he went back to China or something. Doubt he'd be available."

At the mention of his name, Anna felt Hans become rigid with surprise. Turning to look at him, she found his face was the very portrait of confusion, disbelief and maybe even fear. For once, his cool, suave mastery of the art of conversation failed him as it took several moments for him to answer. It made Anna wonder what was so shocking that Hans would have this kind of reaction to a name.

"Did you say Shang Li?" He asked, making a visible effort to appear comfortable again.

"Erm, yeah… I _think_ he was called Shang," Anna responded, not entirely sure what the issue and not liking how Hans was scared by the reference. "Why?

"Hmm? Oh. Nothing really," Hans tried to play his surprise off naturally, quickly regaining his normal composure and easy charm. "I think some terrorist leader in China has the same name. I could be wrong. It was just something I read in the paper. Anyway, even if he is called Shang Li there's probably more than one man with that name in all of Asia."

"If you say so." She replied, still uncomfortable with the sudden change in his demeanour and alarmed by the possibility that Elsa was connected with a terrorist.

Unfortunately, before she could press the matter any further Hans' phone began ringing. He pulled the iPhone out of his pocket, glancing at the caller ID before groaning in annoyance. Anna knew what that meant, and did not like the idea of suddenly being deserted. At least Elsa was present as well. She felt guilty as having practically ignored her sister following the over-the-top argument over the role of the Snow Queen in society.

"It's the Office," Hans said, although Anna already knew that by his reaction. "They're probably going to want me to come in and sort out some paperwork. We're having trouble with a mag-lev contract since we lost the GDU and if we don't get this sorted then my parents are going to be pissed. Sorry."

"No, it's fine," Anna assured, preparing herself to re-enter the living room and risk another conversation with Marshall. "You go. I'll try not to start any fights while you're gone."

* * *

Elsa sat rigidly in the squashy armchair in the corner of the living room, watching how everyone else conducted themselves in what should have been a strange mix of people. Hans had left about an hour ago, meaning Anna had more of a reason to come back inside and talk to Olaf. From the outside, it seemed as if they got on very well. This didn't surprise Elsa to any great extent; Olaf was friendly to everyone he encountered and he had certainly made an impression on Anna from the first two times they had met. Indeed, Anna had asked Elsa how she made friends with the man in the first place, a question which the redhead had proceeded to regret when it sounded unintentionally harsh. Elsa didn't mind such 'Anna-isms' though. She was just happy knowing there was some comfortable overlap in her two lives, given that Olaf, despite his usual absentmindedness, was very good at keeping secrets.

However, Elsa couldn't help but spot the disbelieving, angry stare Anna gave Marshall every time he spoke to Olaf. She supposed this was in part due to how the soldier viewed the Snow Queen, although as the glare intensified with each passing conversation there be also be an element of just not liking Marshall. It did seem that most of Marshall's words to Olaf were along the lines of demanding more glasses of water, or jugs as it later became. Consumption at that rate just seemed strange.

If Marshall wasn't ordering his brother to pour more water, then he would be found hovering with Rapunzel and Kristoff near the table; where all three picked at the food. By her own testimony, it was evident that Rapunzel's metabolism had increased to phenomenal levels. Elsa counted that at least six times the brunette had piled food high on her plate and eaten it all in the blink of an eye. Such a display made Elsa feel sick just thinking about all the calories in such a meal, as her life trying to stay physically fit had conditioned that particular response. No one else seemed to notice the strange behaviour, of course most of the people present were aware that Rapunzel was not the quite the same as she used to be. In fact, if Elsa looked closely enough she would have said that Rapunzel appeared stronger than before. There was no clear muscle growth or definition, but the way she held herself suggested that there was an unquestioned strength about the girl. It wasn't the first time that day that Elsa wondered exactly what she had done to her younger cousin.

Unfortunately, without Pabbie there was no way to identify what the serum had done on a cellular level. Taking a blood sample was one thing, being able to analyse the results was another task entirely since neither Elsa nor Olaf had ever been taught what to look for. If they wanted a definitive answer or even a convincing theory they would have to go the old man himself. But it was obvious that Pabbie didn't want to be disturbed at the moment. Olaf had said Pabbie was invited, and his absence now exemplified the extent to which he was avoiding speaking to any of the vigilante team.

"Everything alright over here?!" Olaf exclaimed from the corner of Elsa's vision. As host, he had naturally taken it upon himself to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves. This came especially after the tense conversation on the Snow Queen earlier.

"Yeah. Yes, everything's fine Olaf," Elsa replied, in a hasty confirmation which sounded only half-genuine. Although Olaf didn't seem to mind the nature of the response. He understood her enough to see through her outer layers and he was also enjoying himself. It wasn't often he was able to see Marshall, especially since they normally lived in different countries. "Is everything alright with you?"

"Hell yeah!" Olaf practically yelled, gaining the attention of a few bystanders. "It's just like the old times! Me and Marshall!"

Elsa sceptically glanced at the elder brother, who was draining what must have been his third jug of water and looking rather off-colour. He was fair paler than he should have been, even compared to Olaf's near-paper white complexion.

"Really?" She had to ask. "Forgive me for saying, but he was never that demanding or that argumentative when he visited you in Oslo." That was true. The only time Marshall had acted quite as confrontational as now was when he had found a major point of disagreement with Elsa. Having that discussion had not been fun.

"Oh, he's alright really," Olaf defended, sounding slightly more hushed now. "I think he's just still recovering from the shock he had yesterday. Some guy attacked him outside the station, and I think that just made him uneasy."

"Seriously? He was attacked?" Elsa probed, not believing that anyone in their right mind would approach such a giant with the intention to harm. Hell, the Stabbingtons would have probably reconsidered. "Why?"

"No idea, the police said it was just some junky," Olaf, rather compassionately, related. "They found an empty needle with him and everything! Believe me, if you'd seen half the things Marshall has you would not be able to relax after that!"

"And I find it difficult to relax as it is." Elsa muttered under her breathe.

Although had never been remotely close to it, she knew that war was a deeply changing experience. Not least because Shang Li had once told her about the Battle of Stalingrad and she had been interested enough to look it up later. The statistics for the average life expectancy of a soldier in the five month long battle was only twenty-four hours, and not much better for a higher-ranking officer. The thought of this alone was enough to deeply disturb Elsa. To be at that kind of risk, to walk into certain doom and still find the courage to act doubtless was a terrifying experience. All it would take is one mistake, to simply be in the wrong spot at a bad time, and an agony worse than death could be forced upon you. Deep down, she knew she could never willingly walk into something that could inflict that much torment on her, as well as life with her actions afterwards. Being a vigilante paled in comparison to the amount a man like Marshall sacrificed. She doubted she could bear the pain of it all.

A sudden _crash _pulled her out of her reverie, and her eyes were drawn by Kristoff calling her name in a panic. Like a shot, she was on her feet and flew across to see what the problem was. It was quite clear what had happened, even though a cause was indeterminable. Rapunzel had collapsed against the long table, coiling in on herself to crush what must have been an aching pain into submission. It had been the rapid application of her wait to the bench which made the items on it shift and clatter before she slouched down onto the floor, still fully conscious but with her eyes screwed shut. Luckily, Kristoff was in there to break her fall and with Marshall's help was able to lie her out properly.

"What's going on?" Elsa asked, using what little medical knowledge she had and pulling Rapunzel's eyelids open. Her pupils were not dilated, which was a good sign. The groan of discomfort she gave was even better.

"We were talking, and she just fell over." Kristoff said, at a loss on how to act. It was less than helpful that he hung over the scene and blocked much of the light.

"Give her something to eat!" Anna instructed, barging her way forwards to study Rapunzel herself. "She's just hypoglycaemic."

"Hypoglycaemic?" Marshall scoffed, himself not being of any use as he gave Elsa even less space. "Haven't you seen her eat her body weight in chicken? That's definitely not 'hypoglycaemia'."

As quickly as it had started, the seizure vanished. Rapunzel suddenly sat up, blinking as if she had been awoken and gently pushing a few people back. When she climbed to her feet, she stood like a hernia had developed and was hunched over, but seemed more than capable of taking care of herself. Elsa looked to Kristoff and Olaf in alarm. Whatever concerns there had been about the serum were being proven true, with still no better was to answer the questions despite having witnessed the symptoms. They may as well have been following breadcrumbs from problem to cause.

"Sorry," Rapunzel shyly said, offering a small smile while she tried to stretch herself into an upright stance. "I don't know what came over me. Is it just me, or is it really stuffy in here?"

Catching onto the hint, Elsa turned to Anna and made the suggestion; "Why don't you two head back? It's been quite hot today and Rapunzel probably just needs a rest."

Understanding as ever, Anna nodded and quickly went collect what few possessions they had brought with them.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Olaf," Anna said as she helped Rapunzel hobble towards the door. "You should come to one of my parties sometime. I'm sure we'll have something planned around Christmas."

"Drink plenty of water!" Marshall called after them, although Anna pretended not to hear him and Rapunzel only gave a tiny wave in response. Despite all her other worries, Elsa couldn't help but notice he had refilled his jug again and was now drinking directly from it.

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright, though?" Anna lightly interrogated as her and Rapunzel slowly meandered back up towards Queen Boulevard along the edge of the Mountains. "This keeps happening and it didn't before the kidnapping incident."

The streets were alight with the buzz of streetlamps on the opposite side of the road. On their chosen path, however, there were fewer working bulbs and the shadows enshrouded them more as they neared the middle of the neglected edge of the city. So far practically no one had been encountered, save for a few homeless men who had tried to hide behind dumpsters and trashcans. These people had promptly been gifted with whatever small notes Anna and Rapunzel had on them, as well as the light encouragement to find an open coffee place and get a warm drink. Other than that, there had been no reason for the two young women to feel apprehensive about wandering dangerously close to the rough sections of town. For Rapunzel, this was because her strange symptoms leant her new confidence at her heightened abilities. For Anna, it was with the knowledge that somewhere the Snow Queen was probably keeping an eye on things.

"I'm fine, really," Rapunzel assured, keeping a hand near her waist in case there was another explosion of pain in the walk home. "I just need some fresh air. It was really stuffy in Olaf's apartment."

"Yeah," Anna drawled in agreement as she looked at the clouded sky. "The weather's turning. Could rain any minute now. I wouldn't be surprised if this kind of gloom followed Marshall around. Was it just me who thought he was an ass?"

"He was… Brusque, if that's what you mean," Rapunzel reluctantly said, trying to find something decent in the man. "But I suppose war trauma can be a bit damaging. Olaf seems to like him, and that's what matters."

"I know, but did you see the way he acted?!" Anna practically leapt in annoyance of the evening. "He was completely dismissive of Olaf. Just kept sending him to fetch glasses of water or ignoring him. I really hate it when people purposefully ignore others. I have no time for them."

Rapunzel resisted the voice of reason which demanded she point out any parallels or hypocrisies in Anna's words. Instead, she reflected more on Marshall's chosen directions. How he had drank seriously high amounts of water over the course of the get-together and how pale he had looked in bright light. Perhaps his short temper was merely due to him feeling slightly under the weather. Having to entertain and talk to people was certainly the last thing Rapunzel would want to do if she was ill. If this was the case then Anna's comments were unfair and undue, seeing as this was only the first time she had met Olaf's brother.

However, the chance to make these points was suddenly taken away from her as the pair were violently grabbed and dragged into an alleyway. With a hard shove, Rapunzel found herself pressed against a brick wall by a yellow-toothed man in his mid-twenties dressed in a filthy hoodie and tattered jeans. His breath was disgusting as it filtered into her nose, not entirely unlike the smell of bad eggs. The eyes which looked on her were angry, the face pulled in a snarl. A horribly familiar feeling of sharp metal being pressed into her skin emanated from just below her collar bone. She didn't need to look to know there was a knife there.

A fleeting glance to her right revealed that Anna was in a similar position, with her captor looking near identical under his layers of dirt and the curtains of greasy hair. To her credit, Anna appeared unafraid by this predicament. It was possible that she used to her life being threatened by now in a sad reflection of how the public viewed her. A target, not a person.

"Well, well lads. Whadda we 'ave 'ere?" A rough voice said from behind the two attackers, a slightly older man hanging back from the threatening fray. As identities go, he was no more distinguished than his cohorts but seemed to be in charge simply because he had a good decade on the rest of them. "It's dat Hannah Noble girl! What's a rich bitch doin' in our humble dump this time o' night?"

"You pulled us in here," Anna mocked, scrabbling for any purchase against the brick wall she could find. "Or is your memory as terrible as you teeth?"

All three began chortling incessantly, diminishing what little bravado the redhead had. It was clear that she had no advantage over them, especially when there was a pocket knife against her cheek. However, while the focus was on Anna, Rapunzel used this chance to secretly feel the top of a trashcan in the hopes that she might find some form of offensive or defensive weapon. Sadly, most of the top layer was compromised of a foul smelling sludge of rotting food.

"Either way," The ringleader continued once his laughter had subsided. "Yer gonna 'ave to pay Mountains tax for walking through our territory. So, if yer don' mind, we'll be relieving ya of yer valuables."

As her vile captor began none too discreetly patting down her sides, hands wandering dangerously close to her chest and away from any pockets, Rapunzel's fingers brushed something solid in the trash. It felt like a shallow, metal dish which had been warped for some reason, but if she could just salvage it from the stinking pile then she thought she might stand a chance. Sadly, the uncomfortable proximity of the man's hands made her too rigid and shaky to pull the dish out without arousing suspicion. She'd need something else to distract him first if she was going to have a chance.

"You know, you're really going to regret this," Anna said, to receive only another round of amusement. In the meantime, her pockets were emptied of her phone and purse; which had its contents spilt onto the pavement. "The Snow Queen will track you down."

"What makes ya think she'll come after us?" The ringleader taunted, dropping to his knees to inspect the findings from her purse. By Rapunzel's count, there was about a hundred dollars in there along with a collection of coins and a few photographs. "We been doin' this long before that bitch showed up and she ain't bothered us yet. Oh? What's this?"

From among the selected pictures, the ringleader drew out a tiny photo of a group Rapunzel almost didn't recognize. The boxing around the edges and the creases down the middle served as testament to the age of this tiny image and how long it had been since the figures were together. It depicted Anna as a toddler, sitting on her father's knee and smiling as she held a slightly older Elsa's hand in one pudgy fist. Elsa herself was sat on Idunn's lap, beaming as she looked down at her little sister like she was the entire world. For once, there were no gloves on her hands and no distance, emotional or physical, between the sisters. The parents were stared straight into the camera, appearing a little tired, perhaps, but proud nonetheless. From what Rapunzel could see, there was a Christmas tree in the background and all four were swaddled in seasonal jumpers. At a guess, this may have been the last family picture from the Holiday period before Elsa had become withdrawn. This could even be the most recent one of them all together. No wonder Anna carried it with her, and by the way she held herself, as if she had been physically injured, it was a most treasured possession.

"This yer family?" The ringleader jibed, holding the picture up for Anna to see. He did not respect the delicate, aged polaroid inks involved as he pressed a filthy index finger into the image. He did, however, enjoy how Anna squirmed. "Those yer parents? The great Noble family? Where are they to protect ya now? Oh yeah. At the bottom of the ocean! And yer sister? Never spared a dime for people like us. I 'ear she deserted you after their deaths. Looks like nobody's concerned for ya. 'Specially if they let ya wander the Mountains at night. Doubt even the 'Snow Queen' would come to save yer hide."

During his harsh deconstruction of all the mental scars Anna held, she had almost literally deflated. At the mention of her parents, her shoulders had sagged. When reminded of how they died, her knees nearly gave out under her. After Elsa was brought into it; Anna looked away, defeated. But when the ringleader made the comment about the Snow Queen not caring Anna's reaction was quite different. Fixing the man holding her against the wall with an angry stare; she sucked in her cheeks, made a distinct _slurping_ sound and promptly spat straight into his face.

The hoodie hollered in disgust, pulling his arms (and importantly, the knife) away from Anna as he tried to wipe the foreign saliva out of his eye Unfortunately, before Anna could make a decent get away or call for help, the same man swung a fist straight into her jaw and knocked her straight to the ground. She landed heavily amongst a pile of trash bags, too stunned to react as the same thug leant down to give her another strong blow.

"No!" Rapunzel yelled, forgetting her secret search for a weapon and instead pushing straight against her captor.

As she did this, she felt what might have been, to her, a scratch etch down her shoulder. However, her focus was far away from this as, surprisingly, the hoodie holding her was caught off-guard by her sudden attack and lurched off his feet as if he had been hit by a car. Everyone present watched as he was carried off the ground by Rapunzel's push, before tumbling onto his back and rolling into the opposite wall of the alley. He groaned, slumped, and did not get back up.

"Oh my God." The second hoodie, the one who had punched Anna, said when he glanced back at Rapunzel. His eyes were drawn directly to her chest, although not for the previous misogynistic reasons his accomplice had.

The terrified, awestruck stare made Rapunzel inspect herself as well. From the inside, she felt completely fine. Her heartbeat was pulsing in her ears from the adrenaline rush and her legs were a bit shaky under her, but otherwise there was no aberrant sensation which was cause for concern. Although this was proved wrong when she found the handle of a pocket knife protruding from just below her collarbone. There was a slight welling of blood around it, with a small accompanying dribble, but nothing more than that. Thus may have been completely different if the knife had been held just slightly higher, and had severed one of her major arteries, but Rapunzel chose not to focus on these pessimistic thoughts.

Instead, against what every medical documentary and drama had ever told her, she grabbed the handle and pulled the blade out of her shoulder.

The exit caused more pain than the actual entry, but this faded to a stinging numbness in a matter of moments. Her adversaries continued to watch the strange display, both of them paling when the thin line of blood running down from the wound was absorbed back into her skin and the cut stitched itself back together again. In under two minutes, it was as if there had never been a problem with her shoulder.

"Leave us alone," Rapunzel half-pleaded, half-warned. Her feat of strength had caught her by surprise as well, and she was actually worried about the foul man she had pushed straight into a wall. "Leave us alone, and we won't call the police."

Not sure how to handle the situation, the stooped hoodie turned to his leader in search of a direction. It was satisfying to observe that the ringleader had lost all his bravado due to this example of the supernatural. He fumbled in his pocket while taking a pointed step back in fear of what Rapunzel might be capable of. It hadn't occurred to Rapunzel that she was standing in the mouth of the alley, so that for them to leave would be quite impossible unless they actually approached her again. This position was interpreted by the ringleader as a subtle threat, leading him to come to the conclusion that pulling a small revolver on the girl was the only sensible thing to do.

"Get her!" He instructed, his gun visibly shaking in his hand.

Anna was quite forgotten by this point, the true enemy of the scene having been identified, apparently, as Rapunzel. The hoodie barged forward, attempting to rugby tackle her to the floor much like he had to her cousin. He may have been successful as well, had Rapunzel not, instinctively flipped backwards onto her fingertips and then naturally, even fluidly, placed her legs back under her as if standing was an option. The up-to-now unknown strength in her arms and core muscles bemused her greatly. While she may have been practicing gymnastics for years, never before had she managed a manoeuvre quite so gracefully without stretching. In front of her, the hoodie dived directly into the side of the trashcan having been expecting to meet Rapunzel in the middle.

The trashcan toppled over, spilling some of its contents onto the pavement unceremoniously. With a metallic, resounding _clatter_ the object Rapunzel had considered wielding skidded to her feet. It was twisted, blackened and old-fashioned with its metal handle, but there was no denying what it was. It was a frying pan. Rapunzel had considered beating off some muggers with a frying pan. How silly.

Regardless of her judgements, when the hoodie scrambled back to his feet and charged at her again Rapunzel immediately stooped to grab the handle of the pan. This gave the hoodie the chance he needed to contact his shoulder with her stomach. With his weight behind him, he was able to drive her into the corner of a dumpster. The sharp edge twanged her shoulder blades, most likely leaving another nasty, brief cut across her back. But none of that was taken notice of as Rapunzel brought the broad side of the pan down directly on his head.

This act of violence was not how Rapunzel had wanted to solve the situation. In an ideal world, the gang would have left her and Anna alone after seeing her strength, or they would have simply never picked them as targets in the first place. She momentarily wondered if this was how Elsa felt when the blonde was faced with crime in the Mountains. Did the Snow Queen only solve problems by hitting, kicking or freezing them? From the news articles Anna had found, it largely looked like this is mostly how Elsa ended the potential of harm. Of course, she never relied on kitchen utensils to keep thugs at bay.

The hoodie slumped in pain at the strike, but did not desist from continuing to push Rapunzel into the corner of that dumpster. Each thrust created a new scratch, which healed over in a few seconds, but the pain was beginning to build into a greater itch which made the individual wounds last longer each time. Rapunzel wondered how quickly the side effects of the serum could heal her. Was there a limit to the damage it could undo? Was this wasting a rather handy ability to have in a fight? She hadn't asked to be put in this situation, and it was beginning to cost her physically. Who knew how long the pain would last afterwards.

It was from this concern that Rapunzel brought the frying down again, this time on the hoodie's back. A greater result was yielded from this, as the thug hissed in pain and fell down to the ground at her feet. He didn't move again. He only gave an animalistic yowl of defeat.

Rearing up to look her last enemy in the eye, Rapunzel was immediately sickened to hear the _clicking _of the revolver's safety. There was an expression of extreme gloating on the ringleader's face as he levelled the weapon more surely not that she was further away. How much he cared about the wellbeing of his confederates was brought into question by his countenance. After all, he hadn't tried to help either of them when Rapunzel had acted. It wouldn't be a total surprise if he didn't care about them. Gothel had always said that ruffians only looked out for number one.

He smiled even more when he saw her freeze upon spotting the aim of the gun. Memories, or memories of nightmares, bubbled under her skin to remind her of what had happened the last time she had put herself in the path of a gun for someone else. Of course, last time was different. She knew what she was doing now.

"Well, what use were all those stunts if-…" The ringleader attempted to insult, but he rudely silenced the _clang_ of a frying pan being thrown directly into his nose.

Falling onto his back, the ringleader immediately dropped the revolver in favour of shielding his shattered nose. His tears were enough confirmation to know he was no longer an issue, and Rapunzel was more than willing to let him run away from the fight. For good measure, she picked up the revolver to empty its chambers of bullets before promptly burying it in the garbage.

"I hate guns." She muttered in disdain, remembering the cold darkness she had been subjected to after her experience of being shot.

When she turned back, Rapunzel was alarmed to find hat, while she had been dealing with their abductors, Anna had regained her senses and seen everything. _Everything_. This, Rapunzel feared, included her feats of regeneration. At the very least, Anna had born witness to the impossible strength her diminutive cousin now possessed.

"'Punz," Anna said, gripping the photo of her family tightly and highly confused by the scene that had unfolded. "What the hell was that?"

* * *

The night had only grown more humid, rather than cooling as one might expect with the absence of the sun. It was obvious the clouds were prepared to break at any minute and send a long overdue deluge of rain water over Arendelle's streets. Every single pedestrian on the street sensed this, contributing to their sluggish runs through the muggy heat. All movements were uncomfortable, every motion automatically making fresh clothing sticky and ready to be changed. Even the vehicles on the road seemed to protest as they chugged along, their engines grating in the damp air.

But despite all these signs that he should be sweating through his civilian clothes, Marshall merely swiped at his dry forehead and shivered. He had hoped that standing out on the balcony in fresh air would make him feel better. The jug Olaf had given him a few minutes before was already empty, an yet a thirst remained. For a man who had seen all kinds of illnesses during his tours, none of this was particularly worrying. Should the symptoms persist for a day or two more then he would seek a professional opinion. For now, this looked like nothing more than a cold.

"Marsh?" Olaf called, leaning out of the balcony doors. He was unsurprised to find that his brother was unresponsive, although he was certain Marshall was listening. "I'm gonna turn in! There's more water in the fridge and tap!"

Marshall gave a small grunt in acknowledgement, keeping his eyes fixed on the river in the middle distance. He had never really admired the simple force that was a coursing river. How it cut the land asunder over thousands of years; creating new paths and deep rivets in the earth. Natural features such as these were normally just agiven. No real attention should be paid to them. Of course, the river ultimately gave life to areas starving for nourishment. Allowed crops to grow, animals to drink and people to exist. And in the winter, when it turned cold, brand new structures would form out of it; stronger than before.

For some unintelligible reason, Marshall suddenly felt a divine urge to go to the river. He wanted to go there. He needed to be there.

This drive took precedent over everything else. But he felt weak, all of a sudden. Water, he knew, was the answer. If he had enough water, he could make it down the river which sat only half a mile away.

As luck would have, the lights of a van caught his eye directly below. A glance revealed that, by pure chance, an Atlantica Waters delivery was being made to a corner shop in the next street. Any bottles of crystal clear liquid would be unloaded right there, perfect for the taking. Surely they would understand.

Without truly thinking about what he was doing, Marshall clambered over the railing of the balcony. Indeed, many things were happening at that moment which were plainly ignored by the all-consuming need to have another drink of water and reach the river. For example; Marshall had not noticed that since his half-baked plan had hatched his skin faded from a supremely pale pink to a ghost white. Nor did he feel his muscles grow, which was vital in facilitating his descent along the outside of a building. Most of all, he didn't see the icicles flare out of his shoulders, elbows and fingers; ripping through his shirt and glittering in the streetlight.

He barely noticed the screams of the people when he finally dropped onto the pavement.

**I promise an action chapter next time, since the last two have been quite wordy.**

**Please Review.**


	22. The Snowman - Part Three

**Well, here we go again. Still late in updating, still no decent reason why it's taking me so long. I've probably just put more waffle in all the chapters. Maybe I'll get faster at writing this length of chapter (10,000 words) in the space of the week. Who knows?**

**As Shadowtiger999 has pointed out, someone has made a phenomenal breakthrough in genetic engineering in the case of Marshall. I'm actually glad someone said that, because I felt it was a bit too farfetched, although I do have an explanation for it. There's a little bit in this chapter, but more will be coming in the next few chapters. Then again, I'm glad Marshall's been so well received as a foe. Let's hope I can keep him consistent. Also, to Shadowtiger999, Merida will make an appearance, although soon is a relative term. Let's just say she may be making a cameo somewhere in the not too distant future (infuriating answer, I know).**

**In response to the views on shipping and keeping it canon, I probably didn't make it quite clear last time. As much as I possibly can I'm keeping this true to the film and, as such, Kristelsa is not going to be prominent (for many other reasons apart from the fact Kristoff and Elsa barely speak to each other in the film, ever). However, there's also a lot more going on here, so there's more room to play with how certain characters perceive others and what they may, individually, infer from the exchanges. Personally, I'm not a fan of Kristelsa either (except as a bromance).**

**A few people also made the point that Shang Li is getting a lot of mentions. Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to discuss what this all means, but it's going somewhere. All will be explained eventually.**

**On a side note, a warm welcome to GinsengH, who I think has beaten Batman1809's record for reading this story. I admire your dedication and thank you for it. As for the fact that Elsa and Anna don't interact that much, I've been thinking that as well. When I started, I didn't think Rapunzel would appear as much as she has and I've had to put Anna with her more than Elsa just to avoid scenes becoming two complex when there are three very different perspectives which need to be voiced. I probably don't even balance two all that well. But I will put more Elsa/Anna in there soon. **

**Finally, I'd like to say thank you for all the reviews and the suggestions for Rapunzel's alter ego. You've given me some good ideas there and I'll try to incorporate a few together.**

* * *

Very little time had passed since Anna left with Rapunzel before Elsa and Kristoff found reasonable excuses to also vacate the party. While Olaf understood that that had been the plan all along, since Arendelle crime went on regardless of whether he had family visiting or not, but Elsa couldn't help feeling that this was a very rude reflection on his hospitality and efforts. Yes, there had been an unspoken level of tension in the room, although that was not Olaf's fault in any respect. It was sadly all down to Marshall, who was had still been downing pints of water when Elsa said her goodbyes. Kristoff had practically concurred this interpretation when they re-established contact an hour later. Naturally, the pair had chosen not to leave at the same time to reduce any suspicions Marshall may have had concerning their connection. Not that he would have believed it for one moment.

When Kristoff had left, he had gone straight to the Ice Palace to fulfil Olaf's role in his stead. While he may not have understood the first thing about how the younger man hacked into various computers systems across the city, there was enough access after the many months they had worked like this that Kristoff only had to select a location from a specialised map to be able to see roughly what Elsa could see. Kristoff could understand why Olaf enjoyed his duty on the team, since being able to watch most of the city and direct the Snow Queen was surprisingly like playing a video game. Albeit, one where he had no control and took place in the real world.

Elsa, on the other hand, had walked to the Garage around the corner from the Ice Palace before changing into the Snow Queen costume. From there, she rode her bike to the edge of the Mountains where, by random choice, she climbed the tallest building available and began her nightly stake out. Quite often, she would stay in one spot for several hours waiting for a large enough crime. In the beginning, Pabbie had recommended that pursuing a mugging was only viable within a two block radius since otherwise an attacker couldn't be stopped or followed. It wasn't every night that there was a break-in or a robbery at gunpoint, but Olaf could usually find a carjacking to keep her occupied. Anything that would clean up the streets of petty villainy.

It was here that, on the evening of Olaf's reunion with Marshall, Elsa idly watched a few straggling pedestrians soldier on through the muggy streets. The weather had apparently made much of the city apathetic, so that in the two hours since she had set up a temporary base all there had been to do was practice her martial art patterns and inspect the bruises she had gained from the drug cartel. Thankfully, Kristoff was available to talk to the entire time, since he was also stuck monitoring the news and police transmissions on the off chance that somebody decided to break the law. He conversation tonight had mostly varied along the lines of what improvements could be made to the Ice Palace, but there was adequate for new territory to be explored, such as:

"_So, what is the big deal with Hans Westerguard?" _Kristoff abruptly asked after a short discussion over whether they should expand their arsenal of concealed weapons in the Ice Palace. "I mean, I could be wrong, but by the look of dread you have whenever he's around I'd say you hate him."

Tensing at this enquiry, Elsa thought back through all the interactions she had ever had with Hans. Overall, they were few and far between. There wasn't even enough to make a convincing lie about why she hated him so much, yet she didn't want to think about the horrible matter at all. Therefore, she was only left an attack on a trivial aspect of the youngest Westerguard.

"Because his sideburns look like he skinned some voles and stuck them to his face," Elsa tried to joke, feeling uneasy about this deception to a trusted… Friend? Yes, Kristoff was a friend. "That's animal cruelty, and I like animals."

"_Uh-huh. So it has nothing to do with the fact he's dating Anna?" _Miraculously, Kristoff had found another reason for why Hans was so loathed. Of course, Elsa's hatred pre-dated the advent of her sister's relationship by several years, but it was a real enough concern that she could convincingly complain about it.

"Anna's old enough to make her own decisions. If she wants to date Hans, then I can't interfere," She voiced, knowing that to be true. "But I don't like the fact she had to choose _him_ of all the people in the world. We've been business rivals for pretty much our entire lives."

There were a few moments of radio silence, during which Elsa feared Kristoff was not buying this cover up. She had already lost one major ally, it would not do to lose another for a lack of trust. Besides, it was a very petty reason for why she disliked Hans so much, but still one she did not want to openly discuss for her concerns that, if released, it may draw the old issue back into the open. This would be terrible, especially now that Elsa was a public personality.

"_Couldn't you just… Forbid it?" _Kristoff carefully asked, thinking about every individual word by the sound of his speech. "_Refuse to give your blessing or something like that. You are technically head of the Noble household."_

"That wouldn't work for a plethora of reasons, not least of which is that we're _not the mafia_," Elsa deadpanned, but sincerely entertaining the idea. "There's also the fact Hans isn't trying to marry her, plus Anna's free to do what she wants. She did pretty much take care of herself for the last three-and-a-half years. Since she was barely sixteen, no less. I doubt she'd listen to me."

"_I don't know_," He replied thoughtfully. There were an audible few clicks in the background at the Ice Palace, probably as he checked the other side of the Mountains for crime again. "_Anna holds you in pretty high regards. I think she'd listen to you, at least. But I don't know that well, so don't take my word."_

It was a good point. In the time Elsa had been back, Anna had seemingly deferred to her judgement on even the most trivial of matters. Indeed, there had been several occasions over the last few months where Anna had hit a domestic problem in her apartment and perhaps automatically rang Elsa for guidance. Was this another example of Anna trying to mend the bond between them? How far would she listen if Elsa were to try giving advice over her relationship with Hans? Of course, there would be no good excuse to even _begin_ that conversation and there was also the fact that Elsa lacked the experience necessary to give a lecture. It would be a risky topic, to the point she didn't even want to try. She just couldn't risk alienating herself from her sister again.

"I'll think about it," This was a conversation Elsa was not enjoying, purely for the painful childhood memories which resurfaced during it. Besides, there were several others topics to distract them. "Have you got any response from Pabbie yet?"

"_None yet," _Kristoff sadly reported, not even having to pause and check any of their phones for a message. "_And I guess we'll just go on expecting nothing. You'd think he'd reply to something like that."_

In the aftermath of witnessing Rapunzel's collapse, Elsa had finally bitten the bullet to break the radio silence with Pabbie. Surely something this important would be recognised by the old man, and he would at least tolerate the team long enough to make sure a patient was alright. Every minute there was no reply made Elsa think Pabbie really was finished with his association in the Ice Palace, but then again she knew it was downright unreasonable to expect him to answer to their beckon call. He probably wouldn't even check his emails until the next morning, yet he had annoyingly blocked their few calls.

"_What do you think's happened to Rapunzel?" _Kristoff carefully asked, knowing this issue was at the forefront of Elsa's mind at the moment. "_Do you think it's really to do with what we did?"_

"Unless she's had another experimental drug injected directly into her bloodstream while in Arendelle," Elsa remarked, confused over how Kristoff could even entertain the idea. "All I know is that she wasn't collapsing and she was eating regular amounts before she was shot. Unless it's post-traumatic stress, then it's the serum."

"_Is there any way we can check that without Pabbie?" _

"I don't know," That was the most infuriating thing about their position. Normally, Elsa would have nearly all the information available to her from one source or another, but Pabbie's absence left a prominent blind spot in everything the Snow Queen did now. "We don't know what all the effects of the serum are. It was designed to heal people, so I suppose if she could regrow a limb that would pretty conclusive. But I'm _really _not willing to try that," Growing uncomfortable with the number of unknowns currently facing her, Elsa decided it would be best to refocus on the nightly tasks and find something to do. There was only so long she could stay on a rooftop without growing mind-numbingly bored. "Is there anything happening, anywhere? A mugging? Stalking? Litter?"

A moment of quiet took over as Kristoff once again cycled through every camera feed they had across the city, followed by Elsa hearing a few police broadcasts second hand when his radio was turned up. To her, it just all sound like a cacophony of warbled voices and hissing static. But this was a necessary evil if she wanted to track anyone down. It made her wonder how other vigilantes worked each night; since Flynn had suggested he didn't have any back-up and it was presumable that the Archer didn't either. Was Elsa over-reliant on outside help in her crusade? At what point did that become a weakness for her? All of a sudden it looked like too many people knew her secret and she did not follow them closely enough to make sure nothing slipped. Especially not that Pabbie was not entirely on their team.

"_There's no litter," _Kristoff replied, sounding as bored as Elsa felt. If nothing turned up in the next hour, it seemed fair that they may as well catch an early night. "_And the police aren't investigating anything. But there's a strange trend in public reports from the Riverside. Three separate messages in the last ten minutes have described an Atlantica Water truck being attacked by… a marshmallow?"_

Elsa froze in surprise at the sheer bizarreness of that report. "A marshmallow?" She had to ask, making sure she had heard him right. Then again, there weren't that many words 'marshmallow' could be confused with.

"_A marshmallow," _Kristoff sceptically confirmed. "_Hopefully not in the _Ghostbusters_ sense. But it's been described as taking place next door to Olaf's apartment and we don't have any cameras near there, so that may be worth checking out."_

"I'm on it," Elsa said with great uncertainty, hopping down the fire escape and riding off on her bike within a minute. "It's a shame there are no campsites nearby. We could make s'mores. Get Olaf on the line, I want a visual on this Staypuft Man."

"_Yes Ma'am." _Kristoff answered while she turned the corner midway down the streets and began the downhill ride to the Riverside.

* * *

Despite everything Rapunzel had feared, Anna actually took the surprise of her superhuman capabilities rather well. Yes, the redhead had needed a few minutes to process what she had seen and attempt to reconcile this bold defence with the timid cousin she had always known, but there had been none of the shouting, terror or outrage that Rapunzel had worried would occur. The only sign to indicate that Anna was not completely alright was her uncharacteristic silence on the rest of the journey home. Of course, this may have been due to the fact a group of thugs had tried to mug them. Anna did clutch the old photograph of her family very tightly as they wandered back to Queen Boulevard, although she had forgotten the money the ringleader had made off with after Rapunzel broke his nose.

Otherwise, Anna largely seemed to accept that Rapunzel was slightly more than an average person and that she would also need time to prepare herself for any questions that had to be asked. It was this quiet agreement that led to the pair sitting on either side of the kitchen island waiting for the other to broach the topic. Every time Rapunzel made a move, Anna fixed her with an intense stare as if expecting a full explanation of where these abilities came from. Instead, Rapunzel just reached to take another cookie each time since her fight had made her hungry again.

Eventually the tension became too much for Anna, and she slammed one palm against the marble counter as the only visible sign of her excitement or agitation.

"You were stabbed!" She exclaimed, slipping a hand over her mouth when she realised how that comment sounded. A second later she added other details which remained prominent, but said them more quietly like she was suspicious someone was listening in. "And then you healed. In seconds. You threw a guy nearly a foot taller than you across an alley. And that frying pan thing."

"Yeah, the frying pan was a weird choice," Rapunzel voiced, having had the chance to reflect on what she must have looked like from the outside. Her brightly lilac shirt must have screamed 'harmless target' while she had proven anything but when provoked. "And I guess I did all those other things as well. Don't freak out!"

If there had been another person to watch the exchange, they would have seen Rapunzel practically cringing as Anna's face was in shocked awe at the verbal admission that what she had witnessed had actually happened. The brunette gritted her teeth while Anna was frozen in another physical symptom of her astonishment; arms thrown wide and mouth agape before drawing her reaction back to a demeanour fitting a calm conversation.

"Okay, okay," Anna chattered to herself. "You have powers. You have _superpowers_. You're practically Wolverine. Except, y'know, you haven't got the claws. Wait. You don't have claws, do you? Did Stan Lee rip that off? Is your Dad an X-Man?"

To say Rapunzel understood very little of what Anna was saying was an understatement, so she carefully answered as soon as the redhead caught herself rambling. There were few answers she could actually give, but she knew she couldn't to Anna that easily, especially now her cousin knew. In theory, his would actually be a very short conversation.

"Erm… No? I don't have claws," Rapunzel inspected her knuckles, suddenly scared bone would sprout from her hand at any given moment. "At least, I think I don't. I didn't actually know I was strong enough to push that guy until tonight, so it could happen. I really hope it doesn't."

"_You have superpowers_!" Anna repeated in a squeal, leaning heavily against the counter and seeming to be overwhelmed by the revelation.

"They're not superpowers. Not really," She admitted, taking another bite of a cookie to give a moment to think. "They're more of a… Side effect."

Rapunzel immediately wished she hadn't said that, as Anna's ears perked at the strange term. At once, the older girl was sitting rigidly as she processed the comment. It didn't take much to figure out that Anna was thinking back through all the incidents of strange behaviour to eventually form a reasonably accurate theory on where the powers had come from. She had even said it herself that Rapunzel's fainting had appeared after the ordeal with the Stabbingtons. The ordeal which led to Rapunzel meeting the Snow Queen. The Snow Queen, who also had superpowers.

"'Punz… How did you get those powers?" Anna slowly asked, intent on finding out the complete truth of the very thing Rapunzel didn't want to address. There was a complete encounter with the local hero which Anna was yet to hear, and it was probably the most important one she would ever hear. Probably.

This had been the subject of a long-term internal debate which had been the main focus of most of Rapunzel's sleepless nights. How could she ever possibly tell Anna the truth about what happened with the Stabbingtons? If she explained it all, Anna may lose her faith in the Snow Queen. And if she ever found out that Elsa was the Snow Queen, that could be the tipping point which completely destroyed the sisters' relationship if the enormity of the disguise didn't do that by itself. But there was absolutely no adequate way of disguising Elsa's role in the events. There was no member of the team she could mention without Anna narrowing down the identity of the Snow Queen. The only way she could tell Anna about where her 'powers' originated from was to place the Snow Queen at the centre of the story.

"Well… Erm, I got them because… I was… Shot." Rapunzel gradually revealed, every word feeling like she was contributing to the eventual destruction of the Noble sisters' friendship.

"Oh my God." Anna paled upon hearing those words, remaining thankfully silent for the rest of the account.

"I was shot by the Stabbingtons while the Snow Queen and Flynn Rider was rescuing me. It wasn't their fault in any way. I… I took the bullet for the Snow Queen, right here," Rapunzel gently patted the lower left side of her stomach as an indication of the rough area. Without a scar she couldn't actually remember where exactly the bullet had pierced her skin. "And I started to bleed out. Neither of them were sure of what to do, but they eventually took me to a place. I can't remember the journey very well," This was not a lie. But it gave enough justification for Rapunzel to avoid saying she knew where the Ice Palace was. "Fortunately, the Snow Queen had something, some drug, which was able to fix me up. Really quickly as well. They left me at the precinct so Kristoff could bring me back here. But whatever drug they used has had these… Effects. I haven't been sleeping much, I've been eating more and I've been stronger. And I can heal really fast, although I've only been able to test that twice."

Anna was still silent for a few minutes after Rapunzel finished her story. She didn't seem to notice that her cousin had selectively omitted certain facts, such as there being more than two people present in the Ice Palace or that Rapunzel didn't know the nature of the serum used on her. There was a brief moment where Rapunzel feared that Anna had actually been rendered catatonic by the rapid ups and downs of shock in the last hour. Thankfully, she saw that Anna was in fact staring at a point behind her head rather than focusing on her. Twisting in her seat, Rapunzel was concerned to find that the note-laden notice board was the subject of Anna's intense scrutiny.

"I have to find her." Anna suddenly and quietly said, immediately rising out of her chair and heading to the door. It appeared that she was completely ignorant to the fact it looked like it was going to rain at any moment outside and as prepared to just walk out into the street in her _Batman _shirt and a loose pair of jeans.

"Wh-where do you think you'll do that?" Rapunzel stuttered, scared she may have given some uncensored hint as to where the Snow Queen could be found.

"I have that list of places her lair could be, I could find one of her accomplices," Anna urgently reminded, rounding on the spot to point at the annotated map beside a printed, blurry picture of the vigilante. "She must have an accomplice if she always wears that earpiece. One of them is bound to know what they've done to you, and I need to find out."

Rapunzel was verging on desperation to keep Anna inside the apartment. While it was unlikely the redhead would be able to find the Ice Palace from the incorrect suggestions on the list, there was always the chance she might encounter the Snow Queen by coincidence in the street. It would really throw Elsa off if her number one fan and sister suddenly started criticising her, even more so if criminals also happened to be involved in the imagined scenario.

"Well, why do you think they're the only ones with the answers?" Rapunzel tried to naturally question, despite the fact an escape path had suddenly flourished into existence when she thought about what Anna was in search of. "Surely you know someone else who could find out? What about that old guy your parents was friends with?"

Anna paused in her tracks, looking puzzled when she asked: "Pabbie?"

"Yeah! Him!" Rapunzel jumped eagerly now that she had Anna's attention away from the Snow Queen. "He's good at biology, he could probably find out what's happened to me. C'mon, Anna. We'll go see him tomorrow. It'll be easier to find him that it is the vigilante."

There was a second where Rapunzel thought that Anna would go hero hunting regardless of what she said, so her relief when her cousin let go of the doorknob was all the greater.

* * *

Olaf finally picked up the phone on the fourth attempt of calling. He may have been excitable when awake, but he slept flat out and it almost took nothing less than a foghorn to wake him up. As such, Elsa was within five blocks of the scene when she was eventually patched through and could practically see what was happening for herself. Naturally, her approach was slowed when she encountered the surprisingly long line of traffic stretching back from the attack, but from what she could see there was definitely an upturned truck adjacent to Olaf's street and a distinct white form beside it.

Part of her wondered whether the White Knight had finally made a reappearance, although this was disproved by basic observation and logic when Elsa noticed that the figure was taller than the truck that was lying on its side.

"_Hey, Elsa!" _Olaf's partially sleep-hazed voice echoed over the faulty line, full of static. "_What's happening?"_

His question was almost worthy of a double-take, given that the event of interest was taking place within one-hundred metres of his balcony. Surely he had heard the commotion or realised there was something amiss when cars gave infrequent honking and the undeniable crash of a vehicle being flipped over. Even if he hadn't been awake that long, it would at least be notable. But, knowing Olaf, he was probably focusing entirely on Elsa's problem rather than his own, as always, even though there was an undeniable crossover in what these problems were.

"There's a massive… Thing on the street opposite your apartment," Elsa loudly reported, weaving her way around cars and across pavements in order to reach the scene. Thankfully, the few people who bothered to walk through the evening heat didn't question her presence but merely let her through. "Go to your balcony and tell me anything that might be useful."

The small noise of surprise Olaf made when he peeked out of the window and saw there was, indeed, a creature on the street below would have made Elsa laugh under any other circumstance. However, she now had to park up and run the rest of the distance to the disturbance when the traffic finally become too heavy to manoeuvre around. It seemed most of the residents of nearby streets had come to observe the strange spectacle taking place when she suddenly hit a solid band of people at the mouth of the street. It was difficult to push through, especially as Elsa sought to keep out of direct contact with the assembled crowd, but a few people made way for her when the recognised who she was and her unofficial authority in the realms of public disorder.

"_I'd say he's about seven, seven-and-a-half feet tall," _Olaf objectively reported, though he in disbelief that such a thing could exist. He spoke in a hushed voice, presumably to keep from waking Marshall and being caught in contact with the Snow Queen. "_There are spikes, I think, on his shoulders and elbows, and there are claws. It looks like he's just drinking. Elsa, if I didn't know any better and I could still be wrong since it's summer, it's a snowman. He's made of snow and ice."_

This revelation of a description came just as Elsa finally broke through the throngs of people to see the frosty giant in all his glory, and it made her nearly freeze when she put several key facts together. The creature was, as said by Olaf, far taller than any man. From a lower vantage point, Elsa would estimate his height to be in the area of eight feet rather than seven. There were points of ice breaking out across his body; not just where Olaf had identified, but also on his knees and lower jaw. Snow was the main material holding this goliath together, a frankly remarkable sight as the humidity would disallow such a solid creation. Even now, some of the snow was melting and reforming lower down his body, yet all the time he seemed to be growing bigger. It was no doubt that this had something to do with the growing pile of empty water coolers beside it, as if the monster was processing the water and creating new snow look the human body did with meat and muscle tissue.

Of course, Elsa understood this was the exact process taking place. She had seen this before. Why she hadn't recognised it sooner was an unknown. Perhaps she had only hoped that she would never witness something so terrible on an actual person. And she had a terrifying theory on which person this was.

"Olaf," She quietly asked, tiptoeing around the truck in order to get a better look at the monster's face. "Is Marshall with you? Did he go to bed? Did you see him go to bed?"

"_Yeah!" _Olaf replied with certainty, despite not knowing why Elsa would mention Marshall. "_Well, I didn't see him go to bed, but he's not out here so that's where he must be!"_

"There a far more places he can be than bed." Elsa slowly hinted, not wanting to leap to conclusions but well aware that she was probably correct.

And there was the proof she need, as she carefully climbed the side of the upturned vehicle to stand roughly on eye-level with the monster. From here she could see his face, and it did not take long to recognise who it was, or used to be. While there had been a lot of distortion in the rapid growth and buried under layers of snow and ice, there was only one person it could be. The monster was Marshall.

"Olaf," Elsa sadly revealed, her hands beginning to shake from the horror of the moment. "It's him. It's Marshall. Or it used to be him."

As expected from such a claim, Olaf's reaction was not immediate nor was it agreeing. He made a strangled noise which sounded somewhere between his trademark giggle and a good-natured scoff. Although she couldn't see him, Elsa could suspect that Olaf was frozen on his balcony, watching the remnants of his brother throw aside another water tank before picking up another and ripping the top off it. She tried to imagine how she might respond if she found herself in a similar position, but shook herself back to the present moment before she could remember the accident with Anna fourteen years ago.

"_No, it's not," _Olaf quietly argued, his voice strained and at once alien to her ears. "_That can't be Marshall. Marshall's not that tall, and he definitely not made of ice! Why would you say something like that?"_

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," Elsa tried to reason, well aware that there was a growing crowd surrounding them. All of them could see the Snow Queen and a snow monster, coexisting in what could only be seen as a peaceful manner from the outside. "Think about it. Marshall has been drinking _gallons_ of water all night. He's been stressed, looking ill. That was the first stage. Now he's grown and he's found the first available body of water to consolidate his growth. Next he'll be mobile, I don't know what will happen then."

"_You say that like you've seen it before."_

"I have," Elsa confirmed, swallowing thickly as Marshall moved on to the next bottle. There were only two left by her count, and she needed to move him before he realised the audience they had gathered. "Patients become illogical and volatile. If something gets in his way, he'll hit it. He put a truck on its side at this size, I don't want to see what he's capable of."

"_But can you reason with him? Is he still conscious?" _Olaf was seeking desperately for a solution to a problem which shouldn't occur in real life. This was a nightmare that belonged in horror movies or _The Twilight Zone_. "_Could you get him somewhere safe, like the basement under my building? There's plenty of space."_

"I don't know, Olaf. He's massive."

"_He'll crouch," _For once in his life, Olaf was actually being forceful on a particular issue instead of conceding control to someone else. "_Please Elsa. He's my brother._"

If a genie had appeared at that moment, Elsa would have wished that Olaf referred to Marshall in the past tense. To accept that this beast was no longer human would have made Elsa's job so much easier, but all that relied on Olaf realising that there was no hope for fixing this. She couldn't blame him really. She was still in denial over the fact her sister had been a borderline alcoholic.

Of course, if a genie had suddenly presented her with three wishes, retuning Marshall to normal wold be top of her list. Instead, there was only improvisation.

"Alright," Elsa reluctantly agreed, tentatively leaning over the ripped open vehicle and pulling out the last remaining tank of water. Marshall's reaction was instant, as he watched the slow, deliberate actions with a curious interest. Whether he recognised her or not was another question, but the important thing was she had his attention. "There's a garage bay door around the corner, right? Get there and have it open in the next five minutes. The less hassle there is, the better."

"_Got it." _Olaf replied, shutting the line off while he pulled on whatever clothes he had to hand and rushed out of his apartment.

The weight and shape of the water tank was vastly ungainly, but Elsa managed to climb back down from the emptied truck without dropping it. Marshall continued to follow her movements, his head swivelling on a neckless mound in a completely disconcerting manner. This first part of lading him away went as planned. Since he had his back to Olaf's building, Elsa had to walk in a wide arch to reach the opposite sidewalk and keep the distance between Marshall and the water tank roughly constant. Thankfully, the bystanders had recognised her tactic and gave her the space she needed to make this transition. All the while, Elsa kept her eyes firmly fixed on the hulking snowman; whose structure started to sag without the replenishment of the water he so desperately required.

"_Elsa," _Kristoff whispered over the still open line, somehow aware of the inherent tension in the situation without actually being able to see it. "_We have a problem."_

"I know, I'm looking at it." Elsa somewhat harshly replied through gritted teeth, shuffling back along the wide road in search of the curb. Marshall had started to realise that the water was getting further away and he took a slow, almighty step towards them. This closed the distance between them at an alarming rate.

"_Yeah, but someone's actually called the police now," _He bluntly replied, knowing they had very little time to get Marshall out of sight. "_They're on their way and, by what I can get on the radio, they think you're responsible for this."_

Whether a result of the shock from this statement, a comically dark sense of timing or a combination of the two, Elsa tripped against the curb of the sidewalk. She fell backwards, with no hands available to prevent her fall and losing her grip on the large bottle of water. The tank itself slipped into the gutter nozzle-first, splitting the gap and causing its contents to filter into the sewers. By the time Elsa was able to scramble up again and Marshall took another long step to reach the plastic container; half the water was already gone.

The processing of this loss had a visible similarity to that of child as Marshall carefully lifted the rapidly emptying container. There was a look of expectance, then confusion when the last drop dripped away and seeped into the concrete. Unlike earlier, it took Marshall a while to figure out what this meant, with the warm night continuing to take its toll on his new body. With the essence of an infant's tantrum, he threw the bottle straight into the ground beside Elsa and released an animalistic wail into the heavy air. Then he glared down at the perpetrator, lifting an ice-heavy fist and plunging in down into the concrete.

Elsa just had time to dive out of the way, but knew he would not stop his pursuit from this one failure. Her problems had just got ten times worse.

* * *

The clock ticked loudly, the pendulum swinging in near eternal repetition as it marked each long second. Other than this mechanical clicking, the only noise was the splatter of raindrops on the windowpanes and the intermittent flicking of pages in the photo album. It was relief that the sky had finally broken, with the first storm in months not too far away. Out here, on the fringes of Arendelle county, the manicured lawns and dry forests were practically welcoming the downpour. Soon it would be drifting into the city.

He wondered whether Elsa would be caught in the wind and rain, if she was 'on duty' tonight. Part of him itched to return to work in the Ice Palace, mostly due to the promise he had made to himself to guide her properly. But she still needed time to learn the consequences of her actions. They couldn't be a team until she heeded his advice when it came to areas in which he was an expert.

Pabbie turned the page to find a preserved picture of Adgar and Idunn, immortalised in polaroid inks where they stood beside him at the entrance to the Noble Estate. They had insisted on taking a picture with the man who had been crucial to a major project at the company, and wanted to do so at a ball they had thrown in his owner. Another picture just below it also displayed the first meeting he had with Goddard. They were shaking hands on the threshold of the ballroom, Goddard pulling an expression of sheer humorous joy at something Pabbie said. Exactly what had been so funny he couldn't remember. Everything had been so promising back then.

When Pabbie had first joined the Noble Corporation as a Head of Department, his first job had been to oversee the completion of a new, experimental medicine which not only reduced swelling in injuries but promoted accelerated repair. As a matter of fact, this project was the precursor to his research on the serum and had introduced him to the concept in the first place. The same project was previously headed by Idunn, but she was required to turn all her attention to research into a certain extremophile virus which was to determine the course of the rest of their lives.

If he inspected Idunn's dress closely enough, he could spot the slight swelling in her stomach. Six months after this moment, Elsa would be born.

He still remembered the first time he'd met Elsa. After all, he had been present when Idunn's waters broke and had accompanied her to the hospital until Adgar arrived. Then he was one of Elsa's first visitors. She cried when she first saw him, and when he held her he couldn't help but notice her skin was colder than one might expect.

After that, Elsa largely stayed in the Noble Estate. For the first eight years of her life, he only ever saw her in the winter and usually outdoors in the cold. Otherwise Adgar and Idunn kept her to a separate wing of the mansion. He should have suspected that Elsa was not ordinary from the beginning, that there was some secret the family was trying to keep. Their overprotective nature became even stranger once Anna was born, since Idunn was far more willing to bring the infant to the company on office days.

Of course, then the accident occurred and everything made sense. Adgar had personally threatened to make his life a living hell should he ever reveal Elsa's secret, but that had never even crossed Pabbie's mind. She was a child, never a test subject. Later she was a patient in search of a cure, and even a student of his when it came to her exams. He felt more like Elsa was his grandchild than a colleague's child or the world's greatest case study in the realms of biology, resulting in an almost parental investment in keeping her safe from discovery. Unlike Adgar and Idunn, he had also found the time to pay some attention to Anna while he sister was going through her darkest days.

A picture on the next page depicted a Christmas masquerade ball on the grounds of the Estate when Elsa was seven and Anna was four-years-old. Both girls sat with their mother, cuddled up on either side. Ever inquisitive, Anna inspected all the other guest's costumes; all the porcelain smiles, fancy suits and expensive dresses. Elsa, on the other hand, was squarely gazing at Idunn's hidden face. Pabbie couldn't help but smile when he realised Idunn's mask was the same one he had given to Elsa when she first adopted the Snow Queen persona.

Although she didn't remember, Elsa had actually stolen the mask not long after the picture was taken. A fuzzy polaroid pinned directly below the previous image portrayed a game Elsa and Anna were playing on what must have been Christmas morning. The blonde girl was wearing the mask in a forgotten game of superheroes, complete with a blanket cape and (ironically) a pair of Adgar's leather driving gloves. Next to her, Anna was a portrait of adventure in a plastic suit of armour; her sword pointing to the ceiling like she'd seen in the _Joan of Arc_ painting.

It was this picture that had Pabbie inspired to make use of Elsa's powers when the Noble parents had first been approached with an ultimatum. Naturally, Adgar and Idunn hadn't wanted Elsa to be drawn into the fray, especially when she was in such a fragile state of mind. There were many arguments between them before her parents had finally agreed to at least inform Elsa about what was happening. Sadly, the message had never reached her.

Remembering that horrible day brought back too much agitation for Pabbie to bear and he slammed the album shut with a resounding _snap_. The pictures always eventually brought back the same set of memories. His rational mind told him that he shouldn't look at the old photos quite so often for the good of his health. There was only so much stress a man his age should take. But he felt he needed to be reminded, to justify his actions up to this point. Everything he was doing was for the good of Anna and Elsa. Unfortunately, Rapunzel was complicating matters.

Seeking distraction, Pabbie switched on his television to drown out the pitter-patter of the rain. It had probably been months since he had last turned the device on, since his work at the Noble Corporation kept him away from his house most nights and left him to check into a hotel inside Arendelle. As such, he had completely forgotten that the last channel he had watched was the local news station. And it was due to this coincidence that Pabbie was immediately met with a video of the last thing he wanted to see. His shock was such that he only began listening to the reported midway through an explanation of the scenario he hardly needed.

"…_with thanks to the Police Department Helicopter, we are getting these images from the scene. It appears that the vigilante, commonly dubbed as the 'Snow Queen', is unable to control one of her creations. This is by far the largest moving construct she has produced, with some experts positing that she has an accomplice inside the creature which allows it to maintain humanoid shape. What the purpose of this attack is remains unclear, but this undoubtedly shows the danger the Arendelle Vigilante poses to the public."_

Wrong. All wrong. In all his years of studying Elsa's abilities she had never been able to build a humanoid structure capable of moving. It was impossible to imbue things made of snow with life. However, Pabbie also knew that the reverse was not necessarily false either. Something living could be converted. And he had been half expecting it to happen soon. He could only imagine what poor soul had been chosen for this test.

* * *

So far, Marshall had been easily evaded purely due to his sheer mass and the fact the heat of the night was causing his outer layers to slowly melt. This gave Elsa the advantage of being able to cover much more space quicker, however she was limited in how far she could because the bystanders were apprehensive to move away. Apparently the entire scenario seemed more comic than anything else and while they had all shuffled back, this was only an increased range for Elsa of maybe six or seven feet. Hardly enough to come up with a solution in. All she could do was try to keep Marshall preoccupied and hope he was gradually weakened to a point he would simply collapse under his own weight. There would still be the problem of where to move him to, but that particular issue could wait until everyone was reasonably safe.

She barely turned the corner of the upturned truck before another crushing blow was dealt to the pavement where she had previously stood. A few cracks were left behind as testament to the sheer force the newly formed ice skeleton could produce. Thankfully, this attempt to kill her meant Marshall had to drag the same dead weight in his arms up while the snow continued to flake away in droplets, giving Elsa a few vital seconds to clamber inside the cab of the truck for shelter.

It was cramped inside, and uncomfortable due to the fact the cabin was on its side, but the metal took the pounding she wanted it to without buckling under the assault. If she listened, she could hear the silence in between each punch to the outer hull increasing as Marshall required more effort to move his diminishing body. Her theories so far had been correct. If no one else approached Marshall, his attention would remain on trying to reach the Snow Queen and he would be slush in a few minutes.

"_Hey Elsa," _Kristoff spoke into her ear, making her jump since she had completely forgotten he could hear everything she heard. "_Call me an eavesdropper, but it sounds like you're doing more running. Surely you could just fence him in? Or funnel his path into the garage?"_

There was another blow to roof of the truck; this time forming an alarming dent directly beside Elsa and causing her to contort even further into the tightening space.

"Marshall is mostly made of ice now," Elsa hastily explained, flinching when another strike created more ripples in the cab. At this rate she would have to get out of the refuge before Marshall reached a low in energy. "And he's searching for materials to build his strength. That's why he's been drinking all of that water," A third pound on the roof enclosed the bottom half of the cabin with only the barest of space for Elsa slide her legs out and crouch against the passenger seat. It would be sooner rather than later that Marshall would force her out now. "If he's trying to generate more snow, imagine what he'll think when he discovers what I can do!"

"_You better hope he melts fast, the nearest cruiser is only about two minutes away." _Kristoff informed with a potentially worried tone to his voice. It was undoubted that he realised how wrong the situation could go if the police intervened. They were famous now for shooting first and questioning later when it came to the Snow Queen.

"So long as he stays out of contact with water we're fine!" Elsa half-shrieked as a frozen claw managed to puncture the metal shell and raked across one thigh.

Elsa began to wonder whether there was a demon whose sole purpose was to take her comments and ironically enact them, as the light _pitter-patter _of raindrops began to echo against the cracked windshield. Evidently, the clouds had finally broken to send the long awaited deluge over the city, although there could not have possibly been a worse time for this. She could feel the dribble of the rain gain concentration through the shattered window above her as the shower became heavier over the course of a few minutes. There were perhaps two positives to this fairly grave catalyst in that Elsa heard a collection of grumbles when the crowds of people felt the rain began to fall in a great mist when the beginnings of a storm could be felt, prompting them to move to a safer distance or leave the scene entirely since the cries of a snow monster were not enough of an indicator already.

Secondly, the rain made Marshall pause in his pursuit of Elsa, allowing her to crawl out of what was, in hindsight, a flimsy bolthole and stretch out her cramped muscles. Her leg stung where the claw had managed to catch her. The suit was successful in stopping him from actually slicing through her skin, but had done very little to reduce the compression from such a powerful, short range attack. This also gave her time to assess the issue more closely, since Marshall was preoccupied with replenishing his strength.

To this end, he was practically an elaborate ice carving as he stretched out his arms and looked to the heavens to gather as much of the falling water as he could. Before Elsa's eyes, his limbs began to solidify and thicken, the icicle nails sharpening across his torso. It was likely that he also grew another few inches as the drops carried on collecting and freezing, being incorporated into a greater whole which should not exist. If whatever governing force in the universe would allow it she might have been able to leave Marshall like that all night and he probably would have stayed in the same spot until the storm ended. This would allow her to prepare more thoroughly for taking on such a behemoth Unfortunately, there was no chance that other people would leave him alone and she could not risk Marshall moving elsewhere.

This was proven the moment the police sirens came within earshot and the cruisers _screeched _to a halt. It was not this which disturbed Marshall, since he was deaf to all outside interference. However, when the two cops who had arrived first saw the reported 'man in a costume', they almost immediately saw it as appropriate to open fire on the overgrown snowman. Elsa didn't even have a chance to order them back before she heard the _bang _of each shot pierce the air.

The bullets made an underwhelming spitting noise when hit the powdery top layer of Marshall's 'skin', with the constant supply of water allowing him to shake off the impacts as if he didn't feel them at all. Indeed, he probably couldn't since the snow did not allow for any nerve connections. Elsa didn't actually know how Marshall was still able to will himself to move. She'd never seen the condition in a creature as complex as a human before.

However, it seemed that the ice on the surface of his body was a substitute to his skeleton and nerves in some form, as when one of the spikes on his back was struck her roused from his catatonic state in anger.

Screaming once more, Marshall rounded on the cops prepared to rip them apart, a feat he may well have been able to perform given his increase in mass. The distance between him and the perceived attackers was practically closed in a single stride, his claws outstretched in order to deal with the competition in what could have been a horrific and brutal act of retaliation. Both cops must have emptied their guns in a futile attempt to keep the creature back.

For a moment, Elsa was torn on what to do. She could have quite easily let the police and Marshall fight it out, but that would have come at the cost of many lives as more sirens wailed out in the distance and Olaf would most likely never forgive her if, however unlikely, the cops won. Alternatively, she could intervene at the risk of causing Marshall to relentlessly pursue her when he realised that she could satisfy the demands of his new structure. There may have been a chance of leading him into the underground garage as planned previously, but this would be impaired by his greater size now. Even if he managed to get inside, there was the question of what to do with him next, especially if he would just fall apart again without the access to water. Some may have called her cold-hearted when it came to regarding this mutated person, but Elsa would call Marshall a lost cause. There was no coming back from this. And Olaf needed to see that.

While these may have been the considerations going through her mind, her instincts acted of their own accord. She was startled to find herself throwing up a long barricade between the police and Marshall. The ice grew like a great grey tidal wave, running straight across the road and saving the cops from certain doom. However, the staggered creation of this partition encased Marshall's fingertips also, leading him to inspect the merging more closely.

To Elsa's terror, she witnessed her construct shrink as Marshall retracted his hand like he was running human fingers through water. It was apparent that not only would he become stronger from touching whatever she could make, it was entirely possible that he could simply walk through them like they weren't there. This was the first time in her life where her powers didn't actually pose any kind of threat to a foe. Part of her wished Pabbie would chime in at this moment with a helpful observation on how to stop Marshall without resorting to the worst case scenario or letting nature take its course.

Fearing that Marshall would perform his trick of passing through the barricade again, Elsa threw of heavy mist (bulked up by the still falling rain) into his shoulder. This proved successful in drawing the giant's curious gaze in her direction, but did her no favours when he resumed his lumbering chase. It would take an absolute miracle for her to get through this. Especially since he caught up with her much more easily this time. It took all her willpower to not scream when his fingers yanked at her waist and lifted her easily into the air.

* * *

The White Knight watched on with enraptured interest as the snowman, who used to be Marshall Hansen, threw the Snow Queen into the air like she was a rag doll. He felt some level of satisfaction at having found something that exceeded her capabilities, yet also a worry in that not everything would go to plan. Marshmallow, so the Knight had coined in his fake internet reports to get the Snow Queen's attention, could easily kill the thorn in his side if left unchecked and that would not do. No. She had to be alive for the final phase. Marshmallow was a simple test of resources, a back-up plan in case his other ventures fell through. So far he didn't like the overall result on the one subject.

Indeed, his concerns on the use of Marshmallow increased when he saw the snowman grab the Queen's hands. He couldn't be entirely sure of what he was witnessing, but judging by the lengthening of the frosty spines on Marshmallow's back he would guess that the Snow Queen's powers were literally being sucked out of her by touch alone. Her struggle was entertaining to watch, with it being noteworthy that the longer Marshmallow stayed in contact with her, and the more he collected from her powers, the less fight she had in her. In fact, she began to look tired. Exhausted, even. Had a weakness been unwittingly found? Was there a limit to how much the Snow Queen could use her powers?

The Knight's reverie was broken by the digital _trilling _of a ringtone inside his helmet. It was not often that someone got in touch with _him_. Usually he would arrange meetings or appear where he wanted to. But he had expected it this time, and it was for that reason alone that he answered the call. This was a novelty for him, after all.

"Captain Latimer, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The Knight greeted cordially enough, but making it clear in his voice that interruption was not entirely appreciated at the same time.

"_Your monster nearly killed two of my people!" _Latimer yelled over the line. Evidently he was watching the live coverage the helicopter directly above the Knight was feeding the precinct.

"It is not _my_ monster," The Knight corrected, wiping away the droplets which fogged his mask. "I have no control over it. Therefore, it is his choice on whether he tries to kill your officers or not and I fail to understand why you are complaining to me about it."

"_Because you've already killed several of my men in your master plan, and I've stood aside," _The Captain argued, unwilling to back down on this occasion. "_Yes, they were traitors or they got in the way, but this time you said no harm would come to anyone. You made a promise to me, and the Mayor."_

He was momentarily distracted by the movement of Marshmallow down in the street. In the course of exploiting the Snow Queen, a matter he was feeling increasingly uneasy about, the snowman lifted her closer to his face as if to inspect this woman. Whether Marshall recognised who the woman truly was or not was unclear, but the important and more interesting thing was that the Snow Queen was able to slip one hand out of his grasp. With no forethought, she plunged her fist into his eye and elicited a shrill shriek from the monster. As a result, Marshmallow threw her into a shop window in a childish fit of anger while clamping both, dustbin lid-sized hands over his face.

"'The Mayor and I'," The Knight absentmindedly said, picking up on the Captain's poor grammar before coming to a conclusion. "I suppose I did promise that, didn't I? Very well, I shall intervene on this occasion and take the monster out of the equation. But this is only because it suits my purposes as well."

With that, the White Knight hung up and promptly leapt from the rooftop to follow Marshmallow and the Snow Queen into the convenience store.

* * *

Elsa groaned as she flopped onto the glass covered floor. She felt like she had literally no energy left after being in Marshall's grip for so long and if she could have rested on that hard floor for a few hours she felt she would have been in paradise. Unfortunately, there was no such luck as the now gigantic head of Marshall loomed through the shattered window.

As it turned out, her powers were more than capable of providing the sustenance Marshall sought. However, it was more surprising when the snowman had been able to drain the ice and snow from her hands against her will, without her needing to activate the abilities herself. This meant that now Marshall could carry on growing for a long as she was alive and within his grasp, although her projected lifespan wasn't terribly great at this point given that Elsa felt like death itself and could barely get back onto her hands and knees. Naturally, self-protection was pretty much a faded notion. Nothing short of divine intervention could save her.

"I know you," She croaked, eyes levelled on Marshall's uncomprehending face. His own life meant very little to him. "I know your brother. He told me about you. You're a lieutenant in the US Military. You've served two tours in Afghanistan. You were born in Minnesota. You have a low opinion of me. You are not someone who harms the innocent. You serve the people of this country. You protect the people who are in danger. You are not a monster."

Whether he heard and understood what she was saying was unclear, although his outstretching hands were a decent indicator that he cared about using her powers more than anything else in this current moment. That dedication stood even when he was pelted with milk cartons by an unknown arrival who had snuck in through the broken door.

"Marshall!" Olaf cried, having given up waiting at the garage door and coming for his brother himself. "Stop! This isn't you! Leave her alone!"

A few more items were thrown into Marshall's enormous face; a carton of eggs, bread and bottle of _Pepsi_ before Olaf also gave up. He watched Marshall continue to approach Elsa, struggling to fit his frame through the glassless window in order to reach her, and paused on what to do. There was no way on earth he could make this choice. Nothing he could do would stop Marshall, who was obviously the aggressor in this circumstance, but he also couldn't leave his friend to die due to his brother. With no other viable option, Olaf could only choose to physically put himself between Elsa and Marshall in the hopes his presence may be able to give his brother some reason to pause.

Surprisingly, Marshall did stop when Olaf stood his ground directly in his path. However, this was not due to any recognition of kin, but rather, as Olaf and Elsa realised when they heard a _sizzling_, the bright red light which began to emit from the centre of Marshall's chest. All three looked at the glowing point in confusion, followed shortly by Marshall's yowls of pain. A second patch of red erupted in his shoulder, with a third appearing at his hip a moment later. This was enough to distress Marshall into retreating, rearing back out of the store and attempting to pat out the burning across his body. It was this action which also revealed Elsa and Olaf's saviour as the last person the ever expected to see.

There, standing in the rain with a flare gun pointing in Marshall's general direction, was the White Knight. For no apparent reason, he had come to their rescue and had even prepared himself for this eventuality by bringing the improvised weapon. While it wasn't going to stop Marshall permanently, it had proved effective in making him run away from a fight. None of them made to follow the creature into the storm.

Instead, the Knight turned to face Elsa with a blank face plate, but before she could say anything to him he fired a fourth flare into the ceiling of the ruined shop to force them into averting their gaze. By the time Elsa and Olaf were able to look again the Knight was gone.

* * *

**Please Review.**


	23. The Snowman - Part Four

**Alrighty then, this is more like it. Finally updating on my target day. This is actually quite good for me. **

**Hopefully this chapter explain more of what's been going on with both Marshall and Rapunzel, as well as ground everything more in science fiction rather than willy nilly, inexplicable fantasy. As a warning, I may not have been entirely clear on how some of it works. If you find something you don't quite understand, please PM me or notify me somehow and I'll try to correct it. **

**To respond to Shadowtiger999, I don't have any plans to bring in the Snowgies/Snow babies. I do like your idea of an orphan network though, it reminds me of the Baker Street Irregulars and I may find a use for something similar. If I were to include the Snowgies, it would probably be in a sequel or short story based on **_**Frozen Fever**_**, although I'm apprehensive to commit myself to something so long term. **

**To JJAndrews, I'm glad you liked it. Butt kicking was my aim with that chapter. **

**In addition to GinsengH and Batman1809, may I also acknowledge that SharKohen has made it into the top three fastest readers for this story. All twenty-two chapters in the space of a day. Yowza. In response, I may hint that Pabbie hasn't left the story nor will he. He's still got a lot to contribute. But whether he'll rejoin the team is another question.**

**Once again, a huge thank you to all my readers and reviewers. You're making the way I'm spending my summer worthwhile. Enjoy!**

* * *

To say the atmosphere in the Ice Palace was tense the next day was an understatement. Despite there being three occupants, the hub was deathly silent to the point that Olaf dropping his pen sounded not too dissimilar to a stampede of wildebeest by comparison. Too many uncertainties, questions and unspoken confessions hung in the air for any of them to actually broach the topic of Marshall. The very fact that Olaf's brother had now been drawn into the crusade, as a danger, no less, had made the blow much more personal to the group. So far, only Elsa's family had been enveloped by the all-consuming life of a vigilante, and that was only two people. Rapunzel was the only one in that category who knew of Elsa's role, although judging by what they had gathered from the brunette; Anna was getting too close for comfort. Now that Marshall, who had a stronger and longer association to members of the team, there was a greater risk to both the city and the security of the team.

All three had separately come to the conclusion that Marshall becoming what the media had dubbed 'Marshmallow' was not a coincidence. He was a direct relative of Olaf, had met Elsa in the past and was now afflicted with something not a million miles away from her powers. Although they did not discuss; Elsa, Olaf and Kristoff all had a strong suspicion of exactly who had caused it. Then again, accusing the White Knight seemed almost too easy and was complicated by the fact the mystery villain had aided Elsa when she needed it most. If the man would ever have an enemy in Arendelle, it most certainly was the Snow Queen. So why, then, did he intervene when she was about to be snuffed out? This was a question which would have to wait until the more imminent problem was dealt with.

When and how exactly they would address the issue of a raging, gigantic snowman would be much trickier at the present moment given that Elsa currently felt like she needed a month of uninterrupted sleep to feel whole again. Whatever Marshall had done to her to increase his mass had the unfortunate knock-on effect of reducing Elsa's strength to a minimal level. She could barely stand up straight without support and had only made it back to the Ice Palace with the help of Olaf. Once Marshall and the White Knight had vanished, he had seen it as necessary to shelter the Snow Queen in his apartment until Kristoff could subvert his orders to investigate the scene of the mayhem with the police to bring her back to base. Since arriving, Elsa had simply slouched in her preferred chair with barely enough energy to stay awake. However, extreme fatigue was not the only worrying factor in her capabilities in light of a second discovery: her powers were now severely weakened. Apparently, like her muscles, there was only so much pressure the snow-making part of her biology could take. No matter how hard she tried, the most she could muster was a small snowflake which melted just as quickly as it formed in her palm.

An added concern which was not much better than Elsa's new limitations was the fact that Olaf had been practically rendered catatonic by the tragedy of what had happened to Marshall. He would interact physically with others, he would nod or shake his head absentmindedly to answer questions, but other than that he said nothing. Even his excitable demeanour was gone. It was difficult to think that almost exactly forty-eight hours previously the same man was eagerly awaiting his brother's arrival and inviting his friends to a welcome party. All he did that morning was stare blankly at a CCTV recording of the encounter in the convenience store, where Marshall had ignored him in favour of reaching for Elsa. His face was a portrait of confusion, hurt and something Elsa might identify as anger, although she had never seen him wear such an expression before.

This left Kristoff as the only healthy person in both mind and matter, but he lacked the abilities of his teammates to actually make progress by himself. The only thing he could do was await the police report on last night and hope he could smuggle a copy out of the precinct. Unfortunately, the report would not be issued until later that day; in the exact midpoint of his shift when he would be patrolling the streets. There wasn't even the chance for him to 'divert' his attention to Riverside since he was being placed on the south side of the Mountains, which was on the opposite side of the city to where he wanted to be. Should he even attempt to look for evidence or Marshall's trail in broad daylight he would face questioning and suspension for disregarding his orders. It wasn't like Riverside would be devoid of cops who would recognise him either, since the street outside Olaf's apartment had been closed for police investigations.

As a crime fighting team, they were severely restricted in what they could do. And it was in this way that most of the morning passed; Elsa dozing quietly but less than peacefully in an attempt to regain her strength, Olaf watching recordings of his monster brother repeatedly and Kristoff pacing the room trying to find a viable solution. Even Sven lacked his usual nature of readiness, as his lay in his dog basket to watch the group mournfully. All of them could quite easily have forgotten the others' presence until Olaf finally spoke at around eleven o'clock.

"What happened to Marshall?" He asked, looking at no one in particular but speaking with force of someone who demanded an immediate answer.

Kristoff glanced around at him while completing yet another length of the ice-slickened floor. "We don't know. That's the whole point of the 'not stopping him' scenario we have going one here."

"No," Olaf said calmly, finally peeling his eyes away from the screen and levelling them on the huddled form of Elsa next to the wall-mounted displays. "Elsa said she'd seen it before. She gave a description of what we could expect. She gave up hope before even starting. So what happened to Marshall?"

It was verging on painful for Elsa to even strain herself into an upright position and shuffle in her seat so that her spine rested against the back of the chair. She remained quiet for a few long minutes as she considered what would be the best way to explain Marshall's condition. Olaf was correct in recalling her knowledge on the matter and she had expected him to draw on this admission, but she was in no way prepared to reveal the truth even if it was a vital measure.

"Marshall was… Infected," Elsa carefully began, wanting to choose the best words and reduce blame. For once she knew this was not entirely her fault, although it could easily be construed as such. "By a virus. He's ill, perhaps to the extent it can be classed as terminal. I'm sorry, Olaf. Not many survive more than a few days. His cells are probably already unstable given the amount he's grown."

"_Elsa_," Olaf uncharacteristically urged in a hardened voice. "Please. Stop telling what will happen and tell what's caused this. What was he infected by?"

Looking to Kristoff for support, Elsa was hurt to see him lean against the wall strategically closer to Olaf than to her. There was no doubt that this was to communicate a strained trust now that it was obvious she was withholding information. The image of Pabbie suddenly sprung to mind as she realised they were currently viewing her the same way she had viewed the old man for the last few months. It was sometimes painfully obvious and menacing that Pabbie knew more than he let on or was willing to discuss. Indeed, half of Elsa's reluctance to contact him was because when he was around her control was subverted by his secrecy. Now she was reproducing such a relationship with the people she needed most and this horrible pang of self-loathing was part of what finally made her reveal everything.

"Marshall has been infected with FRZ-52," Elsa blurted out. She was not surprised that these words meant very little to Olaf and Kristoff and needed no further prompting to carry on explaining its background. "It's a genetically engineered strain of an extremophile found on remote islands north of Svalbard. It was of interest to the various research laboratories, including the Noble Corporation."

"You mean to tell us that your company made 'Marshmallow'?" Kristoff asked, in obvious disbelief that such a driver in the Arendelle economy would be capable of that. Olay merely sat quietly and watched with terrifying accusatory eyes as Elsa fumbled to shift the blame away from the Corporation.

"No. Well, not in any meaningful way-…" She tried to say, although she was interrupted yet again.

"'Meaningful way'? Elsa, this virus turned my brother into a monster!" Olaf argued, nearly exploding in an unseen rage when she defended an organisation he was beginning to hate. "How could it not have been someone from the company?"

"Because it was made twenty-five years ago and only two people know what it does to living things!" Elsa yelled back, unable to take the pressure in her tired state. She was beginning to find it hard to keep herself from breaking down in tears when she remembered who was truly to blame. All she wanted to do was hide herself under a blanket or in a cupboard and cry until this all disappeared. This was not helped by the fact that Olaf, one of the few people she trusted wholeheartedly, had been watching her like she was the devil.

But when she made that statement his gaze softened slightly as he considered the implications of this new information.

"What?" He simply asked.

Her hands shaking, Elsa wiped her face of not existent dirt and unshed tears. If Marshall's selection had made the ordeal close to home for Olaf, then her knowledge of where FRZ-52 came from was deeply personal and something she rarely liked to think about. It had been a well-guarded secret known only to a few and thought of as inconsequential to the rest of the world. Her parents would never have expected this to happen.

"FRZ-52 was the product of my mother's research into the extremophile," Elsa finally said, breathing deeply even though it felt like her lungs were much smaller than they used to be. "The bacterium was seen to freeze surrounding water and water vapour into ice as a by-product of its metabolism. We don't know how it did this. My mother thought it drew in heat from the atmosphere to aid glucose combustion or that it processed materials in a new way to the conventional biological method. And she saw that it may have the potential to reverse climate change and preserve the icecaps if certain genes could be introduced fish which lived in the arctic waters."

She paused, knowing she would have to bite the bullet and tell her friends the true story of the research and how she came to know this virus so well. By now, Kristoff and Olaf should have figured out that FRZ-52 was older than her by at least three years. Elsa even expected them to already suspect where her story was going, although the information so far was misleading. It would be better to clarify the difference sooner rather than later.

"When introduced to adult goldfish, the FRZ-52 gene proved too aggressive and changed their biochemistry and cellular structures," Elsa went on, attempting to ignore the fixed stares from her teammates. "My mother tried slight variations, but all the subjects ended up the same way. They… Well they became like Marshall. So she went back to the drawing board and designed FRZ-53. This was twenty-three years ago, just before she married my father."

The similarity between Elsa and Marshall had probably been spotted by this point, if not by both of them then certainly by Olaf. He, of course, roughly knew where Elsa's powers had come from and was aware her control of snow was linked with Idunn Noble's research. Kristoff, on the other hand, had never received any real explanation of how Elsa could do what she did but had accepted it ordinary to the blonde. So when he caught on he was the one to clarify the news.

"So you were infected with FRZ-53?" He asked, his voice not as cold as Elsa had come to believe it would be. In fact, he sounded curious rather than angry, and had probably never been against her in the first place.

"In utero," Elsa confirmed, feeling relieved that her friends hadn't automatically blamed her when she revealed the direct connection she had to the viruses. "Fortunately, FRZ-53 was weaker than FRZ-52. Apparently it gave my mother a cold for a few days, but it was able to affect every cell in my body permanently. Hence why I could be the Snow Queen. But when my parents began research into a cure when I was eight, there wasn't enough FRZ-53 left to make thorough tests. Most of it was lost in the accident which gave me my powers and we couldn't make any more of it by law. But we still had enough FRZ-52, which we rationed and tested in secret until my parents came to the conclusion that nothing could be done. The remainder of it was put into storage and it was more or less wiped off the records."

"Obviously someone still found it and knew enough to use it on Marshall," Olaf spitefully pointed out, although his anger was turned more towards the unnamed perpetrator rather than Elsa's parents. Evidently, it couldn't have been them who used the aged virus. "You said only two people know what it does to animals. You're one of them and your parents probably didn't share their knowledge of it, so who's the other?"

Elsa took a deep breath before answering; trying to convince herself this man was also innocent of the crime.

"It's Pabbie," She quickly stated, leaping to his defence before it could be questioned. "But he wouldn't do it either. You saw how he was against using the serum on Rapunzel, so why would he infect Marshall?"

"You're probably right in that case," Kristoff agreed taking on his professional, police interviewing demeanour. "So the next question is how did whoever used the virus get it? There haven't been any break-ins at the company, have there?"

"None," Elsa reluctantly answered, still yearning to hide in bed and not speak anymore of this issue. It was a selfish desire, but one she couldn't help feeling. Despite all her efforts to show that it was not her family's fault there was store a part of her own mind which highlighted that none of this would have happened without her. "But Pabbie approved an order, given by Goddard, to have stored samples destroyed. Including FRZ-52. If someone wanted it that would have been the perfect opportunity to take it."

"But we all think it's the White Knight, right?" Kristoff asked, aware this was perhaps the main, overarching threat to the team. If he had selected Olaf's brother and had knowingly abducted Rapunzel then it was reasonable to assume that he knew who each of them were. Fortunately for Kristoff there were no important relatives, apart from Sven. But it was likely the Knight still knew who he was and had probably done considerable research on him.

"If we haven't seen him since the highway accident then it's no coincidence that he showed up last night," Olaf reasoned, his hatred for this man audible. "We've got to stop him. And we're going to have to find Marshmallow first."

This tense vow of vengeance was ruined by the sudden ringing of Elsa's cell phone. In the past few weeks she had actually forgotten she had a phone, given that she either had to leave it on silent for meetings or she would hand to Olaf to mind for the evening. Due to this, most of her intermittent social activities were managed by Olaf through the medium of texting with, predominately, Anna. It was very rare for her to actually be around to receive a call in person these days. And today she was far too tired to even begin talking to people she most likely despised, given Anna always texted while people like Goddard or Tennyson would make annoying use of a personal number to contact her. But at the same time, she knew she had to answer in case there was something important happening with the company. Due to last night's impact on her health, Elsa had taken a strategic day off to 'go through paperwork' since there were no obligations for her to go to the tower.

However, she was surprised to see a number she did not recognise when she finally lifted her phone and motioned for Olaf to quiet down.

"Hello?" She answered curiously, unsure of what to expect. There were a few muffled words spoken in the background, leading her to repeat herself. "Hello?"

"_Hello? Is this Miss Noble?" _An unfamiliar feminine voice said on the other end of the line. Her accent had a decidedly French twist to it, but not to the point t was truly noticeable. If anything, Elsa would guess her caller was an Americanised French speaker. Maybe French-Canadian.

"Yes, this is Elsa Noble," She responded after she realised her focus had been too far engrained on the sound of her voice. "Who is this speaking?"

Kristoff and Olaf watched her with confusion, both harbouring secret concerns over who had reached Elsa. Although they wouldn't say it, they were paranoid that the White Knight or another menace had tracked them down; although Elsa's lack of visible fear relaxed them slightly.

"_Oh, yes. This Bisous, Belle Bisous," _The caller introduced, sounding distracted herself by someone near her. "_I work for Mayor Weselton and he's requested a meeting for today. We tried you at the Noble Corporation, but your secretary said you weren't in. He gave us this number to contact you with. I hope that's alright."_

"Hmm?" Elsa hummed, once again perplexed by this secretary she had never encountered. It was an excuse which appeared semi-regularly when officials attempted to organise meetings around her. "That's fine, I guess. What does the Mayor want to speak to me about?"

Kristoff nodded, now aware that there was no imminent danger to their base of operations. Her companions made an effort to tune out of her conversation concerning the Mayor.

"_He's interested in your business initiative, Ma'am. I'm not supposed to say anything, but I don't think he's entirely happy about it," _Belle warned, appearing to care far more than Elsa would expect from someone at the Mayor's office. She had though Weselton had filled the place with hard-line conservatives. Belle's mere presence within Town Hall was a surprise. "_With this in mind, I understand if you want to arrange a meeting for later in the week. If you don't mind me saying, you sound exhausted, Ma'am."_

Belle was completely correct to take Elsa's fatigue into consideration, and Elsa was touched by this gesture from a total stranger. If she had her way, she would be retiring to bed only to emerge when she could be certain the world would stop spinning from her perspective. But who knew when that would be? There was a ten-foot-tall snowman hiding somewhere at Riverside and now the Mayor wanted to meet her. It was an unfortunate conclusion that no matter what Elsa did she would have to see Weselton before she could take time out to recover from last night, since that opportunity could be anywhere in the next week. She may as well get it out of the way now.

"Actually, does the Mayor have any openings this afternoon?" Elsa said, trying her hardest not to slur the words from sheer exhaustion. "The paperwork for the Noble Fund is probably going to go through sooner rather than later, and if he wants to complain he should probably do it now."

"_Er, yes. Yes, that can be done," _Belle responded, momentarily distracted with a rustle of papers in the background to suggest she was looking over a schedule. "_Can you do a one o'clock meeting?"_

One o'clock. That would give Elsa an hour and a half to change clothes, with the possibility existing for a quick nap. At the very least she could have a shower in the Ice Palace before she had to call Kai out to meet her at a random nearby spot. Even this short term plan seemed far too long for Elsa, and having to negotiate with the Mayor was a daunting task when she was having trouble focussing on something directly in front of her. Indeed, her agreement and farewell to Belle was an awkwardly embarrassing long few moments to find the right words before she could hang up.

Thankfully, Kristoff and Olaf still seemed to be able to understand what she was saying. Or Kristoff acknowledged what she was saying, at least. Olaf had thrown himself back into his computer while Elsa was distracted with the phone. When she glanced over his shoulder she could see that he had brought up plans for every building in a mile radius of his apartment and was trying to figure out where Marshall could have gone without being seen. This was the most productive thing she had seen all morning, so Elsa was inclined to leave him to it. His anger-driven attention was a cause for concern, however.

"I'm going to have a shower," Elsa said, getting unsteadily to her feet and attempting to walk deeper into the tunnels to find the makeshift washroom. "Tell me if you track Marshall down. I'll leave my cell phone on in case."

"I'm tracking down _Marshmallow_," Olaf corrected with an oddly strained voice, not letting his eyes drift from the fluorescent screen. "That snowman is not my brother. We're finding _Marshmallow _and we're going to bring _Marshall_ back."

Elsa could think of many logical and philosophical reasons for why Marshall and Marshmallow were the same entity, although she said none of them. It was probably the last thing Olaf wanted to hear if he was so determined to stop the monster.

"Elsa, you look uneasy. I'll help you walk down," Kristoff smoothly said, putting one of her arms around his neck and practically carrying her along the corridor until they were out of earshot. It was here that he began speaking to her in hushed whisper. "I can't help but get the impression that if you can't be cured, neither can Marshall."

"No, he can't," Elsa sadly affirmed, trying to keep her mix of anxiously confused feelings at bay. "I was trying to tell Olaf that, but I don't think he wants to hear it."

"Well, who would? I never accepted my Dad was terminal until he died," Kristoff agreed, although he tried to attach an incomplete performance of detachment to his acknowledgment of his past. This was the first thing Elsa had heard him say about his family, but she didn't get a chance to address it. "So we can't stop it, which brings me to my next concern. Does the virus spread? Will it infect others?"

It was a fact Elsa had almost forgotten about, although she had no conclusive answer. There were only indications which would suggest a certain pattern in FRZ-52's infection. She doubted that even Pabbie would know definitively.

"As far as we could see; no," Elsa carefully replied, not wanting to have this quoted as a certainty later. "It's not airborne, and it has to infect the blood to have a vast effect. So I doubt we'll get any more snowmen, unless Marshall is giving blood transfusions. But he probably doesn't have human blood by this point."

"Alright, one's manageable," Kristoff repeated to himself as he dropped her off at the washroom door. "If the worst comes to the worst, we'll have to melt him. The only problem is how Olaf's going to take it."

At the very thought of Olaf's impending woe, Elsa was unable to say anything more. Families being ripped apart by her parent's creations were meant to have stopped with her own. She suddenly had a near eclipsing urge to go see Anna, just to pretend there were never any viruses to cause such problems. But her duties called, and all she could do for the moment was wash away last night's grime in the hopes it would refresh her mind.

* * *

Across the city, Anna and Rapunzel were ascending the Noble Tower in the elevator, having quite easily passed through security under the pretence of visiting Elsa. Thankfully, the guards were as oblivious as they were to the fact that Elsa had not made an appearance at the office that morning and they knew Anna on sight anyway. There was absolutely no reason to prevent the CEO's sister from entering a building she owned a large percentage of. All they had to do was check Rapunzel in at reception before heading up the tower.

Luckily, no one else had claimed the elevator they got on; meaning they did not have to hide the fact that they were not going to see the absent Elsa at all. Instead, Anna had successfully recalled which number floor Pabbie's lab was located on. The intervening journey was marked with a subdued tension as both women had very different perspectives on what this surprise visit would mean.

For Anna, she was torn on how she should view the fact that Rapunzel had been keeping secrets. She could understand perfectly why the younger girl would not want this 'condition', as they were labelling it, spreading as whispered gossip. However, there still remained a resentful part of her which was hurt that Rapunzel apparently didn't trust her, even as a blood relative. It reminded her, yet again, that almost everyone in her family remained distant from her in some way. Rapunzel hid her powers, Elsa was very restrained in saying anything about her time in Norway (or prior) and Anna's parents had always had some reason to focus their attention elsewhere in the Noble Estate, rather than on their daughters. This apparent aversion they all had to _telling_ her anything left her feeling isolated even as she was in each of their company. Part of her reasoned, internally, that this was maybe why she wanted to meet the Snow Queen so badly despite the fact the vigilante had more reason than anyone else to not trust Anna with secrets. Of course, the overriding desire which directed her at this moment was making sure that Rapunzel was in no danger from these side effects. What she would do once they knew was still undecided.

Rapunzel, on the other hand, was more concerned with how Pabbie would react to seeing her again. Their last meeting had engrained itself in her mind, with his ethical anger over the nature of her survival corrupting every other fleeting encounter she'd had with him in childhood. Was he more angry at Elsa, for defying him and using the serum, or Rapunzel, who had proven him wrong thus for about adverse effect? Whether her stable condition would change in the coming weeks and months was perhaps the only reason he had to look at her. Of course, there was also the problem of managing to control the references to the Snow Queen's involvement. The only person who wouldn't know just how far this went was Anna, but there was a risk she could figure out everything if they said one thing wrong.

Thankfully, Rapunzel had managed to persuade Anna to describe the symptoms in the hope that Pabbie would recognise the limit to which he could mention the Snow Queen and his prior knowledge. Anna hadn't thought of there being anything strange in this, so had readily accepted the task under the pretence that Rapunzel was just shy to describe her abilities to a man she didn't know very well.

Their visit had been timed to take place just as the laboratory staff would be taking their lunch breaks, with Anna knowing that Pabbie would remain behind as a certainty. As it turned out, she was correct when they found Pabbie alone, staring through the lenses of a microscope to the point that he might be unaware everyone had left or that two guests had arrived.

"Erm, excuse me," Anna said awkwardly, tapping the old man on the shoulder when he didn't turn away from his microscope. "Dr Pabbie? Hi?"

The old man jumped in his seat, unaccustomed to being approached during a period of the day he usually took for his own research. He span around with a grumpy expression to inspect the visitors, although his grimace melted into controlled fondness when he saw that it was Anna beside him. Although, Rapunzel couldn't help but notice that his warm smile looked slightly more forced when he spotted the brunette lingering behind her taller cousin.

"Anna. Hello," Pabbie greeted, motioning for her to take a seat on a neighbouring stool with Rapunzel following her example. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Judging by the way he posed the question, Rapunzel guessed he was well aware of why they were visiting. It did indicate, however, that his anger at Elsa didn't run deep enough to show outright knowledge of what had happened, nor that he even knew there was a problem that needed addressing. If she were to be truly critical of his performance, she would have pointed out that he was making too much of an effort not to stare at her and begin diagnosing her condition using visual cues. She wasn't even sure if there were any physical indicators that she wasn't all she used to be.

"Well, er, it's not something I've done today! Haven't hurt myself, at all. You'll be proud," Anna rambled, jabbing Pabbie jokingly with her elbow and laughing uneasily. Pabbie only watched this typical display of her social skills with what Rapunzel ma have called paternal pride. "But, erm, no. It's not me. It's 'Punz. She, er, had a run-in with the _Snow Queen_ and something's happened to her. And since this isn't something we can go to an… Ordinary doctor, I was hoping you could have a look at her. I mean, obviously you can _see_ her, you're looking at her right now! But could you give her some kind of medical examination, maybe, or just anything which may tell us what's going on? Please?"

Apparently describing the problem was a bit more than Anna could handle once she was under pressure to tell someone she thought didn't know of Rapunzel's problem. There was a certain irony to the situation which made Rapunzel cringe internally when she thought of how Anna might be when visiting an actual medical practitioner. Anna had spoken quite confidently about the strange abilities up until this point, and Pabbie's questioning stare was probably the main cause of this sudden nervousness.

"Alright then. I suppose we should know what's going on if Miss Engel has had an encounter with the Vigilante. Lord knows we can't have another ice-based persona in this city. Two is quite enough," Pabbie agreed, clambering to his feet in order to make his examinations. "What are these 'somethings' that have happened, Miss Engel?"

Rapunzel was slightly unnerved by the sudden proximity of Pabbie, who began studying her pupil with a small torch and measuring her pulse; first in her neck, then her wrist. Having lived mostly by herself for the last few years, and it being even longer since she'd last needed to actually see a doctor, she was not used to people being within two feet of her. She was made even more uncomfortable when she recalled faint memories of Pabbie arguing with Elsa over how best to save her from the gunshot.

"I'm not sleeping much anymore," Rapunzel began, thinking through all the little oddities that had appeared in the last month. "Maybe two or three hours a night. I'm eating way more than I used to. I think I ate at least half the food in Ola- At a friend's house yesterday. And I'm far stronger than I used to be. Last night I pushed a mugger who was probably twice my weight across an alley."

When he heard her mention her increased strength, Pabbie lightly poked at her bicep. To him, the muscle felt like a rock, although it was no bigger than Anna's arm in comparison. The same was true when he picked up a five-hundred gram weight and tapped her knee with it. Rapunzel didn't even feel the force of the impact, with it merely bouncing off her low thigh and _clattering_ on the ground.

"Is this all of the changes?" Pabbie asked, although it was clear he expected there to be more. Rapunzel supposed he would know better than anyone, after all. That was the main reason why she wanted to see him in the first place.

"No," She honestly answered, her fingers subconsciously going to the point in her shoulder where she had been stabbed the night before. "I'm also healing faster. That was the reason the Snow Queen gave that… Drug to me in the first place. I was shot while her and Flynn Rider were rescuing me, and apparently it was the only way to save me."

"I'm sure they had other options." Pabbie said, lowly. Rapunzel's eyes flicked to Anna, finding her brows had furrowed at his strange comment.

"Well, it saved me. Apparently I was near death. It healed the bullet hole, and it's healed other wounds since then. A knife attack included. I'd be dead if it wasn't for what they did," Rapunzel defended, trying to make at least herself look clueless in reference to the Snow Queen if Pabbie was going to indulge in open criticisms. "I just want to know how long it will last and I there are adverse effects."

Pabbie stayed quiet for a few moments, making a pointed look at Anna as if in search of guidance. She simply watched on expectantly, not wanting to interfere in what she believed to be a serious medical inquiry.

"You say you were injected with a drug, and it healed you?" Pabbie finally continued, seeming to follow Rapunzel's lead in masking any links to Elsa's alter ego. Going to a draw in his workbench, he retrieved what she knew by now to be a syringe packet. "Because it just so happens that a sample of an experimental regenerative serum was stolen from storage a few months ago. I suppose it would make sense if the Vigilante had it, since she would no doubt have to repair damage to herself. Unfortunately, no one know exactly how it was taken, or indeed _who _it was. But I may be able to confirm my suspicions if I could take a blood sample?"

Relaxed by his less-than-worried attitude, Rapunzel offered her arm and gritted her teeth for the second blood sample taken from her in three days. Anna seemed to be much less comfortable with needles than she was, since the redhead paled quit considerably and how to look away when the blood started oozing into the syringe. Far more was taken this time than when Olaf had done so, although the puncture wound vanished instantly once the needle was removed. It was then a matter of watching the old man empty the syringe into another container, which he then attached to a centrifuge which was found among other pieces of equipment along the far wall.

"Asides from the lack of sleep and the healing, is there anything else out of the ordinary that I should know about?" Pabbie questioned while they waited. The old fear of problems he had not foreseen was still ripe in his mind, even though most of the results he had expected had been found. This actually put his mind at ease about the potential risky results from Elsa's actions, although he could still be proven correct.

"Would this drug cause hypoglycaemia?" Anna butted in, this having been one of her more prominent worries when addressing Rapunzel's powers. She was convinced there had to be one drawback to an otherwise perfect set of engineered abilities.

"Hypoglycaemia?" Pabbie repeated curiously, his face falling at the suggestion and focusing on Rapunzel for first-degree answers.

"Well, yeah, I've been… Collapsing more than I used to," Rapunzel admitted, terrified this news would ruin an otherwise beneficial meeting. "I never used to collapse. Except that one time I went on a rollercoaster, although that was nerves."

Still confused and irked by this unprecedented development, Pabbie remained silent as he pulled the test tube of blood off the centrifuge. He gave a nod of understanding, causing Rapunzel and Anna to lean closer on the result. The tube appeared fairly normal as far as either of them understood the anatomy of blood, with Anna failing to recall that blood a composed of two major components; the dense red blood cells which gave the liquid its distinctive colour and a lighter yellow plasma which made up slightly more than half the volume. However, atop these ordinary products of the body was a third material which surprised Rapunzel, but not Pabbie. To crown the yellow and red of her blood sample were a few millimetres of an oily, golden fluid. Indeed, to Pabbie's trained eye he recognised it as the same oil which went into the manufacturing of the original serum.

"Congratulations, you're a plant." Pabbie commented, giving a sly smirk as most of his fears were put to rest.

"I beg your pardon?" Rapunzel asked, while Anna mirrored her perplexed expression. This was not a sentence she had ever expected to hear.

Pabbie pointed to the shallow golden depth of the oil with his little finger, as if this explained everything there was to know about her condition.

"The serum the… Snow Queen used was based on a plant in the rainforest which reputedly has regenerative properties," Pabbie shared, pulling out a magnifying lens from beside the microscope and holding it over where the oil met the plasma. "I combined the natural oils with a mild virus in the hopes its capabilities were transferable to patients, mostly as a way of healing severe burns or generating replacement tissue. However, it seems that when the Snow Queen injected you, Rapunzel, the virus bound itself to your cells and in turn has caused your body to begin producing the oil itself."

"How can you be sure she's producing it?" Anna asked, a little repulsed by the idea Rapunzel's cells were cultivating an oil based on a plant. "What if that's just left over from the original injection?"

"Anna, the average human has roughly five litres of blood," Pabbie lectured, still intently studying the boundary between the separated materials. "Statistically, the amount of oil in Rapunzel's veins is ten to fifteen percent of her overall blood volume, judging by this sample. That is more oil than was put in the serum altogether. Besides, her metabolism would have processed what little of the serum she had injected. And I can quite conclusively say this is causing most of these strange effects. Which is good. The oil has catalysed her body's acceptance of the new genes and prevented any complications. There probably won't be any others, either."

To say Rapunzel was relieved by this revelation was an understatement. For all that time she was clueless about what was going on, she had harboured a fear that she may perish at any moment. After all, there had been no way of knowing what possible long term effects there may have been. For all she knew her lack of sleep could have disrupted her brain functions or her heightened metabolism would have made her starve to death over an extended period. But if Pabbie, who was quite possibly _the _expert on this serum believed it to be safe now, then there was very little that could bring her down.

"So, hang on," Anna went on, still not clear on how the presence of the oil was a good thing. "How is 'Punz doing all the super-strength stuff and eating like Captain America?"

"Every single cell in Rapunzel's body is saturated in this oil, by this stage anyway," Pabbie explained, picking out a stronger lens from the set on the work bench. "And the oil accelerates the healing process. So when she's cut or… _stabbed_ her body tissue will repair itself within a few minutes. However, to repair at this rate, she needs protein, carbohydrates and fat. What is probably happening is that whatever she had stored at the time of injection was repurposed, first to correct all damage and then to build her into a peak physical condition. Her muscles will strengthen to the optimum point for her survival, although this is limited by how much she exercises. But she also needs to replenish her stores of the basic food groups frequently. I suspect her metabolism will slow down to a near regular level in a few weeks."

"Is this the same for my sleeping?" Rapunzel enquired, beginning to see a bigger picture on why her sleep cycle, among other biological rhythms, had ceased.

"In 1966, Oswald submitted a theory on sleep which suggested its primary purpose was to allow growth and rebalance levels of neurotransmitters," Pabbie continued. "In your case, these chemicals are being constantly rebalanced and so you no longer require sleep, at all. This is only a suggestion, but I doubt you will as much as you used to. Much of the excess chemicals will be reabsorbed to prevent material loss. I can think of a number of _other_ biological systems which will also be… _Improved_ by the oil. Of course, if you'd rather not talk about those, I completely understand."

Privately, Rapunzel could confirm these assumptions to be true. Or they were based on the experience of the last month, anyway. In the space of fifteen minute, Pabbie had efficiently and effectively put nearly all of her worries to rest. Everything that she experienced on a biological level was as ordinary as it should based on the old man's information. There was, however, one more item on the list of strange occurrences which she needed to address before she could be completely satisfied with her health. Fortunately, Anna was way ahead of her.

"And the collapses she's been having? That really is hypoglycaemia?" Anna asked, having also understood the implications of what Pabbie had said. So far, it was apparent that Rapunzel could eat however much she wanted and never have to worry about sleeping. Anna could think of a number of people who would be jealous of these gifts for their domestic use alone.

Pabbie gave a subdued cry of success as he finally found whatever it was he was looking for in the sample of blood.

"Miss Engel's body is now more than capable of preventing any internal harm, so I doubt it would allow her to experience energy shortages as regularly as you say they are. Like all humans, she'll have to conserve glucose in some amount and there's more than enough at any one time. So the answer instead lies…" Pabbie trailed off, taking moment to think through all the possible explanations. "Tell me, Rapunzel, when you experience these faint feelings, do you have nausea? Or joint aches? Or a severe headache?"

"They've all appeared, but not always at the same time," Rapunzel replied honestly. She was certain on this, as whether by the power of suggestion or coincidence she began to feel the collection of aches at that moment. This was not the worst one she had experienced, indeed it was quite gentle, but it still left her needing to lean back.

"And you said you were shot? When the Snow Queen saw it fit to inject you?" He knew this point quite well, having actually seen the gory wound when it had occurred. Although Rapunzel still answered in the affirmative to continue the charade of Pabbie not knowing anything about the vigilante. "Because I think the cause of your dizziness is lead poisoning, and with high levels of exposure."

It took Rapunzel a moment to completely reconcile the fact that Pabbie had identified her as having lead poisoning. But she couldn't see how she would have been exposed long enough for the build-up to have a recurring effect; the injury was thing of the past now. Surely her healing factor would have dealt with such a minor issue.

"How would I have lead poisoning?" Rapunzel queried, feeling slightly light headed. She knew from what little research she had done in her exam studies that untreated lead poisoning resulted in death. Was this the bad news she had always been expecting?

"Evidently, the Snow Queen failed to remove the bullet before injecting you," Pabbie answered, clearing up her confusion. At the time, Rapunzel had been unconscious and later 'dead', while Pabbie was preoccupied with persuading Elsa to follow his instructions. In the confusion, the bullet had been forgotten about and completely neglected until now. "The serum has protected you from the damage on the most part. In your blood sample I could find collections of lead suspended within the oil and among the plasma. I imagine infrequent build-ups have been the actual reason, when the oil has had problems coping with the amount of damage. I suppose it has even limited your regenerative capabilities. Once we remove the bullet, your capabilities will probably be stronger. Perhaps to the extent you can heal others."

"Heal others?" Anna partially scoffed, finding this the one point in everything that was too farfetched. Otherwise, she had been excited about all the possible implications this had Rapunzel. "Rapunzel can make other people like her? Well sign me up!"

"No, Anna," Pabbie kindly denied, opening his diary and looking over his schedule for the next few days. "If the oil is present in Rapunzel's blood and across other manners of tissue, then it is likely her skin is permeated with it also. In a high enough concentration, she may be able to heal other people with tactile contact. Nothing permanent will be transferred."

"'Punz! You could the world's greatest doctor!" Anna excitedly exclaimed. "Imagine the impact you could make."

"I suppose," Rapunzel entertained the idea, although if she had that ability then her first action may well be to alleviate all the bruises Elsa had collected as the Snow Queen. "But we have to get rid of this bullet before I do any of that. Can it be done?"

"Quite easily," Pabbie affirmed, looking down his list of appointments within the company for the next day. "I'll need an x-ray or a metal detector to locate it, but it's a fairly simple procedure. Especially with your abilities. You won't even need stitches. Are you available tomorrow morning?"

* * *

When he came to, the first thing Marshall was aware of was the steady trickle of water that was running down the side of his face. He couldn't remember a single thing between arguing with Anna Noble over the role of the Snow Queen and now, but he had enough of a headache to make him think he had a hangover. However, he quickly came to recall that Olaf didn't have any alcohol in his apartment and that his pounding head was nothing to do with dehydration. At least, it shouldn't. He remembered drinking plenty of water during the course of the party.

Maybe even too much water. Marshall definitely remembered emptying one jug of water. It could even have been two.

Then there was a fuzzy collection of images, mostly of gawking, screaming people and him chasing after the Snow Queen. These ended in him reaching through a shop window in pursuit of her. He had been after something, but exactly what he didn't quite understand. There was some confusion in this disorienting sequence of events, especially as Marshall was certain that Olaf had come to the defence of the Snow Queen. Although that was absurd, not least because he remembered Olaf being even smaller in comparison to him than normal.

Marshall was suddenly struck by immense nausea, feeling like he wanted to retch even though there was nothing in him. It was a strange feeling. He wasn't hungry, but at the same time he couldn't remember the last he had eaten. Contorting to a sitting position, Marshall gave an inhuman groan of pain. This motion brought him to the realisation that his body was heavier before, ungainly even. It took him a good few moment to notice that the riveted ceiling was startlingly close to his head.

He was even more shocked when he realised his head actually moulded to every indent in the ceiling as if his skull was now malleable.

Yelling at his horrifying discovery, Marshall attempted to clamber to his heavy feet and search for any reflective surface. It was during this reaction that Marshall came to see that he was no longer in Olaf's apartment at all, and the uncomfortable bed he had awoken on was in fact a car. On inspection, he saw that this was Olaf's car, housed inside what could only be the garage of his brother's building. Even when Marshall had climbed down from the body of the vehicle and stood straight the ceiling was only just above the top of his scalp. He couldn't understand why this was. All he knew was he had woken up in a strange place, he was thirsty and his head was no longer solid.

Staring around the mostly empty underground garage, Marshall could not find any substantial or reflective surface with which he could see himself. What he could see, however, was his hands. They had grown to the size of car tyres, with each mammoth finger capped in a razor sharp icicle. His skin had turned a deathly white, although when he ran a glistening claw over his forearm he felt nothing. The skin parted and smoothed out again once the ice had been retracted. It had as much resistance as packed snow, but it moved as if driven by some sentient force. These were arms, but not his arms.

Tentatively feeling his head, Marshall had the same experience in that his skin did not feel a single sensation. As far as he could tell there was no hair on his scalp, only the same soft layer of fluffy snow. Turning his head also proved an impossibility. Although he couldn't tell, he could only imagine that his neck had somehow fused directly into his body and was no longer a moving joint.

Something had happened to him, something terrible. There was no clue as to what, especially from his perspective, and he had no idea where he could turn to for help. He didn't even know how he came to be in this garage, short of a few disjointed memories. The last of these was the echo of a burning from deep within his chest. Whether this was the trauma of realisation or a reaction of someone who had seen him, all Marshall knew was that he was alone. And he was thirsty.

Whenever he had entered and finally found peace atop Olaf's car, Marshall supposed he must have broken a water pipe as droplets sprinkled for the ceiling into a large puddle which was pooling in the centre of the floor. It was here that Marshall dragged himself, despite a conscious urging that he shouldn't drink anything. His body, or what had become of it, was caught in a battle between nature and nurture as he could link the excessive amounts of water he had drank to the strange behaviour that had led him to the point. His frosty tree stumps of legs would pound the concrete floor with each step while he willed himself to not drink any of this pooling water.

He had no idea what was going to happen next, but all conscious thought ceased when his body won and Marshall touched the murky puddle.

* * *

**Please review.**


	24. The Snowman - Part Five

**Okay, this took three days longer than I wanted it to. That's not even okay. Really sorry about that. Not that I'm vain enough to** **think all your lives revolve around a fanfiction story. So my apologies for that as well. **

**But, alas, I have finally finished part five of the Marshmallow arc. For those of you who follow the pattern of this story, that means there's only one more chapter before the end of this 'episode'. Unfortunately, I have about four days in which to write it, because after that I'm going on holiday and I've just been informed that the house I'm staying in does not have wifi. So if I don't post a new chapter by Thursday, it's going to be a week before we find out what happens to Marshall and Rapunzel. (On a side note, what kind of place is Devon if there isn't internet there in this day and age? And how on earth will I entertain myself?)**

**As for the responses, I'm glad my made up science was well received by all my reviewers. There are probably a lot of problems with those ideas in actual practice, but at least it makes sense in the confines of this story. But if there are any other questions, don't be afraid to ask. It could be fun to try and explain it more.**

**To SharKohen, I sincerely doubt brotherly love could reverse everything that's happened to Marshall. As Pabbie said in the film; 'the heart is not easily persuaded'. The mind, on the other hand… To be honest, I feel pretty bad about it. But at the same time, it's necessary and will open up some possibilities in later chapters. **

**In response to 'Guest', I suppose it does bring some question onto Pabbie's sincerity. But in the scene itself, Anna was present and Pabbie couldn't mention that he was there at all because of it. He's not being deliberately sinister there, but trying to protect Elsa's secret instead. **

**Also, I forgot to address this point for GinsengH a few weeks ago. The board members. The reason Elsa keeps them around is because she can't run the company by herself, especially when she's out most nights being the Snow Queen. Equally, if she dismissed the entire board it would be more detrimental to the shareholder's faith in the company and would probably result in an even greater economic downturn. There's also the point that Elsa's only been head of the company for three or four months, and lacks proper experience. She's clever, just unsure of what she can do, particularly as Goddard is such an ass. Hope this explains more.**

**Finally, to JJAndrews: I'm incredibly jealous. I've seen the reviews and really want to go. Unfortunately I've been busy recently and may not see it for a few weeks yet. So no spoilers! (Not that I think you'd do that. I'm just paranoid.) Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Thanks again to all my readers, near and far, and now I'll get out of the way and go to bed.**

* * *

At just after one o'clock hat afternoon, Elsa stumbled through the entrance to Town Hall with a marked reduction in her standard grace and style. Her shower had not proven to revitalise to any great extent, although the cold water had given her more of shock this time. Normally her powers made her indifferent to cooler temperatures, but it seemed that while she was recovering and replenishing her supernatural abilities her skin was as vulnerable to poor showers as everyone else. Part of her wondered whether bathing under the icy spray would aid the re-emergence of her gift, which were still disconcertingly weak. Of course, her powers would probably be just as detrimental to the 'stopping Marshmallow' efforts as before; since the monster snowman could draw the blizzard directly out of her hands. There was a bizarre feeling of fear stirring in the pit of Elsa's stomach which she could only attribute to evolutionary insecurities of being prey when she considered how she practically fuelled Marshall's mutations.

Elsa didn't even know whether she could survive a second round with Olaf's brother, given how exhausted she felt in every fibre of her being.

This exhaustion ran to the extent that she couldn't even focus while trying to make herself presentable for her meeting with Mayor Weselton. Once out of the shower, it had taken her at least twenty minutes to dry her hair using the dryer and find fresh underwear from a disorganised pile of clothes scattered across the platform which served as her unofficial bedroom. It hadn't been until Kristoff came to check on her that she'd finally managed to dress fully and apply enough make-up to disguise how tired she was. When she fumbled with her standard braid, Kristoff had had to help her tie it up with a surprisingly nimble fingers, although it was still a bit messy. Once all this had been managed, Kristoff took her to her pre-arranged rendezvous point where Kai picked her up. Then it was a matter of trying to hide how much she wanted to fall asleep while travelling to the central plaza and navigating the lunchtime rush of civil servants into the seat of the city's government.

However, despite her dull attention and dazed perspective Elsa still noticed that people were giving her surprised glances and almost scandalous appraisals with their intruding eyes. Her presence was really no matter for them to focus on, although Elsa began to hear the self-doubt she experienced every time she made a public appearance. Perhaps she should have taken Miss Bisous' offer of a meeting later in the week. This would have given her more time to recuperate as well as enough opportunities to explain to Olaf how Marshall could not be brought back from whatever state of death he was in. Frankly, Elsa thought it was best to put Marshall out of his misery. The ethical guidelines her parents had always taught her was that if a person lost their cognitive abilities to an irredeemable extent then it was kindest to just let them die with dignity, rather than pump them full of drugs in a vain attempt to resurrect them. And from what she had seen of both Marshall and the few FRZ-52 experiments she had witnessed there was not much further they could fall. But at the same time, Olaf's wishes had to be respected. He was the nearest of kin Elsa had, and, further than that, her friend. Unfortunately, she couldn't see how a balance could be found between Olaf's desires and Marshall's rights. She could only see one way this would end.

Her path across the lobby of Town Hall went smoothly enough, but when she exited the elevator on the Mayor's floor she was interrupted by the sudden visitation of a pretty face. Elsa paused when she found that there was actually a person standing directly in front of her, and was appropriately mortified when, in her sleep-deprived state, she realised she had walked directly into the dainty outstretched hand offered to her. She mumbled a scared apology to this stranger, who watched her with a simultaneously concerned and amused expression.

"Miss Noble?" A familiar voice said from the stranger's body. Elsa dug through her recent memories for the woman's name, although she was thrown off by the presence of an admittedly beautiful young woman where she had expected a grumpy, middle-aged secretary. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I'm good," Elsa tried to eloquently respond, with a disjointed lie coming out instead. "Just, er… Had a late night and an early morning… Corporate hours and all that… I'm, you're Mrs…?"

"Bisous. _Miss_ Belle Bisous. Bonjour," Belle smiled warmly, kindly and genuinely. There was a depth of emotion in this greeting which could make anyone feel like the most interesting person in the world. For once, Elsa did not feel paranoid that there was some secret hatred or suspicion of her true nature in a greeting. They had never met before, yet already Belle had cut through whatever reputation Elsa had and addressed her directly, as a person with actual human feelings. "Would you like a coffee? Or a soda? Or water?"

"Um…" Coffee was not normally something Elsa drank, at least not since her teenage years when Pabbie had suggested the caffeine added to her anxieties and agitation. Even de-caff was off her menu, except in situations where she did not have any formal obligations for the rest of the day or it was an absolute necessity to carry on functioning. The last time it had been such was during her revision for finals in Norway. But today seemed like it called for such an emergency use and Elsa did feel calm at the present moment. Whether that was due to her barely conscious mind or the calming, persuasive nature of Belle was unknown. "If that's alright. Coffee, no caffeine and milk, please?"

"Of course," Belle nodded, stepping aside and motioning down a corridor which Elsa knew led to the Mayor's office from past experience. "The Weasel's just finishing a personal meeting, so if you'd like to wait at my desk I can fetch you your coffee."

It was a mercifully short journey through the building to reach Belle's desk, which sat just outside Mayor Weselton's office. The blinds on the door and windows had been snapped shut for whatever private discussion was taking place inside, although this was far from Elsa's concern. She was already planning what her case would be when Weselton inevitably objected to her investment initiative, which was easier than most would give her credit for. Whether he would listen or not was another matter altogether and a barrier she would cross only when she had to. For now, she was more than happy to simply sit down.

The small workspace allotted to Belle in the busy policy-centre of Arendelle's local government was almost disbelievingly neat. Elsa liked having a place for everything, but even she couldn't manage to keep as much clear space on her desks at the Estate and in her office at the Tower that Belle had on this one surface. This could be surmised as purely due to the smaller amount of papers Belle had to sort through, all of which could be efficiently stored in a single pile beside her desktop. If Elsa to do the same with all the paperwork from the company, then she would be looking at a behemoth probably taller than two feet. Belle's desk was organised so well that there was even space for a stack of chunky, hardback books. With a weary glance, Elsa picked out that the first, pocket sized copy was entitled _The Handmaid's Tale_, while the larger read underneath it was printed with _The Complete Works of Hans Christian Andersen_ in beautifully spaced pink letters.

"Have a look at them if you want," Belle invited, having spotted Elsa's less than secretive stare at the titles. "It was really hard to get Andersen. Sales have peaked since the Snow Queen arrived."

"I think I have a copy of this at home," Elsa absently commented, pulling the thicker collection of fairy tales from the pile. "An older one, anyway. My great-grandfather brought something like this over and my father used to read them to me."

"A-ha! Are you literarily inclined as well?" Belle asked with great interest. "I haven't actually met anyone whose read the stories all the way through."

"Erm… I read when I can, but my job is very demanding," In all honesty, Elsa couldn't remember the last time she had sat down and read a book from cover to cover. She'd done that frequently as a child, but as her studies, responsibilities and work increased (particularly as the Snow Queen) there had been less time to leisurely enjoy a story. "Do you read often? I mean, obviously you read a lot. There are books on your desk. But are you a bibliophile?"

Elsa could only credit her lethargy for the bashful nature of that question, but when Belle smiled her disjointed thoughts became even more confused.

"I suppose one might say I am a bibliophile," Belle politely answered, keeping her warm, if small, grin focused on Elsa. "When I was little, everyone just called me withdrawn. Or weird. But reading got me where I am today. Well, I wanted to be a writer, but every student has debts they need to pay one way or another and a job with the Mayor of Arendelle is a good way to start. I'm glad I did a combined honours with Politics."

"But you don't like the Mayor, do you?" Elsa whispered with conspiring tones. She didn't want to run the risk of Weselton overhearing them and landing Belle in trouble. "You called him 'the Weasel' a few minutes ago."

Seeing Elsa's reasoning in trying to keep this part of their conversation quiet, Belle pulled a nearby waiting chair up beside her guest and whispered back in response. She was so close that Elsa could smell her perfume and became worried that other people in the office might regard their proximity as questionable, especially since many of these high-ranking aides probably had links to the media. But no one looked twice at them, since this was, after all, a friendly chat.

"If I can be frank, the Mayor's not the most… _Liberal_ when it comes to women in the workplace," Belle related with an air of deep-seated annoyance at such behaviour. "I originally applied to be a political analyst, and I ended up answering his calls and getting him drinks when he needs them. And he was _patronising_ during the interview. He's not the worst I've met, there's a man in my hometown who's practically astounded I'm literate, but I thought people in America would be less conservative about working women."

"He's an ass, basically?" Elsa had known that from the very beginning, although this was the first time someone had made a comment to her about Weselton's old mind set. It seemed this misogynistic nostalgia was prevalent within her own board, and she couldn't help but wonder whether Goddard would be less argumentative if she was a boy instead. "And my apologies if I was too frank."

Belle giggled at this summation of the Mayor's attitudes, no doubt agreeing wholeheartedly.

"Although it's unlikely he can hold those ideas for much longer," Belle hastened to add, but keeping the intimate whisper so that other workers wouldn't hear. "Since the Snow Queen first appeared, there's been a fourteen percent increase in the number of women entering the workforce, and it's still going up every month. I don't care if the Snow Queen's a public enemy, what she does has an impact much more far-reaching than crime rates alone."

This unintended praise for her actions lifted Elsa's spirit immeasurably. For all the time she had been the Snow Queen she had never known how the public truly viewed her. As a rule, she never allowed herself to read the newspaper articles written about her alter-ego or look at the attentions she was given on social media. The only indication she generally got on her performance was Anna's unwavering admiration for the existence of her secret identity. But to hear a complete stranger compliment her input to life in Arendelle suddenly made her feel like she was very capable as a vigilante. Perhaps capable enough to handle the situation with Marshmallow to the greatest effectiveness. She felt, for one, that she could do it. Debating with the Mayor diminished even further in the grand web of her concerns at the moment.

At that very moment, the Mayor's door swung open to reveal the man himself, along with his up to now mystery guest. If Elsa had been asked who she thought was behind that door, having been told it was a personal meeting, she may have guessed anywhere from a family member to a doctor. She never would have even though that it would be the distasteful, and easily recognisable, form of Hans Westerguard that exited the office.

Without noticing Elsa, since she was to the side of the office door, Hans turned back to shake the Mayor's hand in a notably more formal parting than it was friendly. When Elsa noticed it was her sister's boyfriend, she unintentionally listened in to the polite farewell the Mayor gave him, although it was useless knowledge to her.

"You've been very informative, thank you, Hans," The Mayor said with a distanced appreciation, before spotting Elsa out of the corner of his eyes. "Miss Noble! How wonderful to see. Allow me just a few minutes to tidy some paper and then I'll be right with you."

Before Elsa could even respond, Weselton had retreated behind a shut door and Hans had spun around to face her in surprise.

"Elsa! I didn't you were coming in today. We could've shared a ride." Hans greeted with a trademark, well-rehearsed grin. At least, Elsa could only presumed it was rehearsed. No one could smile like that upon seeing someone they didn't know very well.

"Ah, well… I didn't know I was coming in either until about an hour ago." Elsa explained, tempted to add that she would not have wanted to be in a car with him regardless of when the meeting was organised. She spared Belle an eye roll to indicate that Hans was not someone she was keen on, and her newfound imperceptibly nodded in understanding while the subject of their silent exchange was none the wiser.

"Neither did I, I only dropped in because my parents wanted me to carry along a message," Hans replied, although Elsa would have liked to point out that she never asked. "They did quite a bit of funding for his campaign, and there a congratulatory bottle of champagne I was meant to give him weeks ago. So, please don't tell them."

"Oh, I won't." Elsa said, being able to make good on her promise since she had broken contact with Mr and Mrs Westerguard not long after her parents' deaths. Hans' mother had been quite friendly with Idunn, but without this mutual connection and disliking the large family as she did, Elsa had tried her best to not talk to the weapons dealer unless it was a necessary evil. Thankfully, being predominately in pharmaceuticals and biological research made this wilful ignorance possible.

"I'm glad I caught you, actually," Hans continued, making a highlighted _gulp_ and wringing his hands as if he was nervous. "Listen, my parents have got a house in Venice and Anna said she's never been to Europe so I was wondering if it would be alright if I took her with me for a week or two?"

This request surprised Elsa greatly, not least because she technically had no business in saying where Anna could go or who she could go with. Her sister was nearing twenty-years-old, after all. She had the suspicion that Hans was only mentioning it to her in order to undermine her importance in Anna's life. Of course, this could just be her somewhat irrational, overly-biased opinion of him. Since her return from university he had been nothing but patient and understanding, even respectful towards her. Perhaps Elsa's fears could finally be left in the past. It was obvious by now that Hans probably didn't recall her reason for hating him. He was a much nicer man than she gave him credit for. However, she was still worried over his intentions with Anna in Italy. But if Anna wanted to go, Elsa had no real reason for stopping her.

"Yeah…" Elsa vaguely answered, watching Hans' nerves vanish with her agreement. "I guess that's alright… Her passport may not be valid, but I can't object."

"Brilliant!" Hans exclaimed, diving down to hug Elsa despite the awkward position of her being seated. She tensed, but did not object verbally. "I'll sort everything else. I was going to ask her after Rapunzel leaves, so it's probably going to be a few weeks yet. But thank you! Look, I better being going. I've got to sort out a San-Fran' student's work experience. She's very good with Mag-Lev technology. But I'll see you soon, yeah?"

He was gone before Elsa could answer properly, but the timing worked out as such that Weselton opened his door to beckon her inside not a minute afterwards. There was enough time for Belle to remember the fact she had promised Elsa a coffee, for which she dashed across the room. This left Elsa to enter the office still not entirely awake, yet still more confident than she had been previously. There wasn't much that could throw her off now.

Once inside and seated, there was an uncomfortable pause while Weselton pretended to think. To this effort, he tented his fingers and focussed hard on Elsa, although her levelled gaze prevented him from actually intimidating her. It was likely this had been his intention, and his failure made him clear his throat in an unsure choke before he actually began speaking. In this time, Elsa made a fleeting observation of his office and made a note of the few papers that were actually lying on the surface of his desk. From what she could see, it was a simple list of authorities that could be called on in an emergency. There was no doubt in her mind as to which emergency this was aimed towards.

"So, Elsa, I hear that you're reviving your father's investment scheme," Weselton started, trying to sound a lot more impressive than he actually was. "And I've taken it upon myself to advise you that this is not a wise idea for your company."

"And with all due respect," Elsa began, fully intending to pay him no respect as he had the audacity to intrude on private business. "I don't see how you are fit to advise me on how to run _my _company."

This backlash took the Mayor by surprise, leading him to flounder in an unformulated sea of responses. It was a wonder he had made it this far as a politician at all. The few other elected leaders Elsa had encountered in her life and the many she watched regularly on the news always had a suitable, if slightly fabricated, answer to every question posed to them. When Elsa looked at Duke Weselton, all she could was a man aiming for his own ends. Even then, she couldn't help but feel he was being guided in his campaigns, despite the apparent lack of wisdom in these master decisions.

"Well, as _mayor_," The shrimp of a man said, putting an incredible amount of emphasis on his position. "It is my job to make sure business runs smoothly, efficiently and ensure economic growth. And I can't help but feel that this scheme will ruin one of the strongest companies in the country."

"And as someone who is _qualified_," Elsa argued back, refusing to recognise Weselton as a man with any power. "I think this is the best way to restore the city's economy, which I can't help but feel you have neglected."

Weselton pulled a face of shock, mush like he might have done if Elsa had actually slapped him. It was also at this moment that Belle entered the office, face forcibly neutral as she placed the hot mug down in front of Elsa, although the small smile she shot in the blonde's direction made it clear who she was supporting. It was lucky that the Mayor didn't see such an action. During this extended pause, where Belle silently hung to the side of the room like an observant spectre, Elsa quickly picked up the mug and downed it all in one. Which hurt, as she had forgotten her powers were effectively neutralised for the moment and was unable to cool the liquid as she drank. However, it did wake her up.

"Why, what rubbish!" The Mayor exclaimed, although it seemed some part of him agreed with her assessment. "My policies are based on what has historically yielded the best results in terms of business. Laissez-Faire works."

"Laissez-Faire worked in the 1920s and 1980s," Elsa pointed out, managing to stay calm in the aggravating situation. "But history teaches us that these periods of economic success ended in some pretty bad depressions. Besides, laissez-faire means that the government can't intervene in private business. By your own policies, you have no right to try to direct me. It is my choice to help the smaller companies you refuse to acknowledge, and it is your place to stay out of it. God help us if someone does some good in this city."

"I beg your pardon? You think I'm doing no good?" Her comment seemed to have struck a nerve with the Mayor, who grew increasingly red in the face. Elsa couldn't help but notice the throbbing vein in the side of his temple which looked like it was about to burst. "I have spent all morning organising civil protection from these _freaks _which are trying to control the streets. Particularly the vigilante and that damn monster of hers!"

"You'll be doing good when people see a difference," Elsa coolly stated, aware that Belle was watching her with something she might name as pride. "If you weren't diverting the Police Department in pursuit of the Snow Queen they might actually catch some of the criminals she's going after. Then we may not need her anymore."

Belle interjected before the Mayor could reply, no publicly placing herself on Elsa's side of the growing argument.

"That is true," Belle supported. "Since the Snow Queen's appeared the crime rate has dropped by nearly a quarter. She is actually scaring the petty criminals and some of the drugs ring."

"Stay out of this!" Weselton bellowed at her, moving so tensely that it looked like his toupee was about to fly clean off his head. "What the people need it effective leadership, not this hampered bureaucracy of statistics and arguments. I tried to extend a helping hand because I know how divided your company is, Miss Noble, and despite your flaws you can be a decent businesswoman if you just knew what you were doing! But obviously you don't want to listen, so I shall leave you to your own devices. Good day!"

* * *

Elsa's exit from Town Hall was a wholly pleasant escape following such an outburst from the supposed leader of the city. She hadn't wasted any time in leaving his office, although she did slow her pace just long enough to know that Belle wasn't going to get it in the neck for her disloyalty to her boss. Once happy in the knowledge that the kind brunette was pardoned, Elsa practically ran down the building to the privacy of her car, which was still parked on the curb of the central plaza. It was here that Elsa fell into other life as she quickly snatched her cell phone from her pocket and made an urgent call. She had to know what was going on.

"Have you got anything new?" Elsa asked immediately after Kristoff or Olaf picked up the phone.

As it turned out, it was Kristoff who answered. "Hello to you too. We haven't got much. The police investigating the scene can't find any indicators of where Marshall's gone. They haven't even identified him yet, although I don't see how they could. Anyway, I asked my friends in forensics, and they say the trail goes cold barely a block outside of the scene. So I think that means Marshall can't have gone very far."

"Do you think he's within that block radius?" She questioned, climbing into the back seat of her car but motioning for Kai to not pull away yet. It wasn't clear whether she would be needed immediately at the Ice Palace or not.

"That's my theory, and there's something else that could support it," Kristoff added, keeping the pause in his explanation mercifully short. When it came to keeping Elsa informed, he understood that drama was unappreciated. "Olaf got an email from the maintenance at his apartment. Apparently a water pipe's burst, so the entire building is without water. And you said Marshall would be after water over anything else."

"He's still in the building," Elsa realised quietly, worried that Kai might overhear her. "He must have gone into the garage door last night."

"But I have no idea whether he's stay there," Kristoff went on. "If I know building supervisors, and there have been many burst pipes in my building, then they're going to shut off the mains water soon. What will Marshall do if he doesn't get enough?"

Elsa tried to think through all the old experiment reports her parents had given her, remembering all the details of the subjects' behaviours before and after drugging. "He'll try to find another body of water, although I don't know how much he can take. He must be nearing maximum mass. But I guess he'll go to the river if he still needs to drink. Wait, where's Olaf?"

If there weren't enough extraneous variables in trying to predict Marshall's movements, Olaf could be a real threat if he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His enduring hope and optimism were his greatest qualities, but there really wasn't much that would contribute. Not now. Marshall should be completely gone, mentally now. Possibly physically later. She didn't want him to see what used to be his brother. It could crush him beyond redemption, if how Elsa felt about Anna's accident could be used as a judgement on the durability of spirit.

"I sent him home a while ago, and he left his laptop here. He probably hasn't seen the email," Kristoff assured, well aware that Olaf would make the same assumption. Despite his normal appearance; the smaller man was in no way an idiot. "And before you suggest it, don't go there either. We can't give Olaf anything to be suspicious about and the street is still swarming with cops. The police all think that you're responsible for 'Marshmallow'."

"I know, the Mayor's just made that case," Elsa tiredly replied. Evidently the coffee had done nothing to replenish her strength, since she was beginning to have difficulties keeping her eyes open. "So what do you suggest I do instead?"

"Go home," Kristoff simply ordered. "Get some rest. I'll let you know if anything changes and I hope you can get your ass down here if there's another snowman rampage. You've got a bike and a suit at your house, right?"

Sleep did sound tempting, and it was true; Elsa had bought a duplicate of the Snow Queen's motorcycle just on the off chance she would one day have to rush to a crime scene from the Noble Estate. As for suits, there were practically hundreds in the Ice Palace in a number of different colours (which had taken Olaf an entire night to sort through), so it was only natural a few covertly appeared in her wing of the house. There would also be little use for an exhausted vigilante, although the threat of Marshall going on another rampage as still pressing. She may not even sleep more than an hour before being awoken. Of course, even a little sleep was better than none at all.

"Alright," Elsa conceded, massaging her temples as the light was suddenly becoming painful. "But you call me as soon as there's a problem. Even before, if you have to. And if I don't pick up; ring the house phone and tell Gerda to literally beat me out of bed."

Without humour, Kristoff agreed before hanging up. Alone with her feelings for a few moments, Elsa slumped back in the leather seat of the stationary vehicle to collect her thoughts. Her many, confusing and sometimes contradictory thoughts. She was just about to give the instruction to Kai to drive back to the Estate, her peace of mind found for the moment, but then there was a gentle knock on the tinted glass directly beside her and the façade of calm shattered.

Startled back into more conscious, Elsa squinted her eyes to look through the window which already restricted the amount of sunlight which made it into the car only to be surprised, and maybe even delighted, when she recognised Belle on the other side. She had no idea what the woman was doing. Technically, Belle should be assisting the Mayor, as it was the basic description of her job. Nevertheless, Elsa was not about to deny the obvious request for one more conversation before she departed.

The window crawled down slowly, almost painfully so, but once it was out of the way Belle quickly extended an elegant hand and dropped a neatly folded piece of paper into Elsa's lap. Carefully picking it up, Elsa smoothed out the sheet to find a set of numbers and an email address.

"I thought it may be helpful," Belle explained without waiting to be asked. "A lot of people in Town Hall have connections, and I just thought that if you ever needed a meeting on short notice or the number of someone else in the city then I may be of use."

Elsa got the distinct impression that Belle's justification for handing over her private phone number was an excuse, but she could also see the use in having an ally inside the Mayor's office. Especially if Weselton had a thinly veiled dislike for both of her identities.

It was a refreshing change to be able to make a friend so easily.

* * *

An array of screens were hung around the sparsely decorated bunker, which had been appropriated for his needs. From here, he could be anywhere in the city within half an hour and could see any threats over a much wider area. This was much more convenient than his second base of operations in the woods outside of Arendelle, although he could never be too careful. With every passing day, he became more concerned of foes who might arrive, or betrayal by his allies (which seemed unlikely), or the Snow Queen finally figuring who he was. In any event, he could escape and be at his more secure hideout before any danger could come to him. However, the White Knight felt confident enough in these confines that he had removed his helmet to watch the progress of the police investigation.

From the moment he had first approached Marshmallow, he knew that the snowman could not be as easily destroyed as he first assumed. Obviously his informant had either lied or tried to play down the effects this 'FRZ-52', potentially to defeat him before the next phase of the plan could begin. All this had done was delay him. The Knight could not be stopped now. Every major office in the city was under his control, and it was thanks to this control that the Knight could direct the police to continue the hunt for Marshmallow.

There was no way on earth that Marshall Hansen could have escaped more than a few blocks. Having watched back the Snow Queen's fight with Marshmallow, particularly once the Knight had decided to intervene, the city cameras could follow the monster down two streets before he disappeared. Thankfully, he went in the opposite direction to the river. The Knight could only assume that Marshmallow would grow exponentially if he came into contact with _that_ mass of water. Unfortunately, the Knight did not know how reliant Marshmallow was on water. Did the snowman need it only to gain strength, or was it to ensure survival? If the latter, then the Knight could simply wait until a weakened, starved creature emerged from its hiding place. Then it would be much easier to remove.

If it remained just as powerful, or became even more so, then there was a major problem. For the briefest of moments, the Knight felt a flash of fear, which was promptly buried under rehearsed confidence and a number of potential plans. After all, the Knight did have a wide array of weaponry at his disposal. A flare may not injure Marshmallow, but he doubted a walking pile a snow could match a rocket launcher.

The Snow Queen would also have to be kept out of the mix. He had watched the recording of Marshmallow's confrontation with her fourteen times; reinforcing his assumption that her powers could vastly increase the mass of ice. Hopefully the vile woman would see how detrimental her presence would be and leave him to it. The Knight did not want to have to eliminate her before the time was right. It was a strange position to be on. Normally his wish to have her tortured to death was his motivation. But he would much have her tortured over a longer period of time than simply putting her out of her impending misery. It would be the sweetest victory since his training.

His contemplative mood was suddenly broken by a practically foreign sound in this old bunker. To be honest, he had completely forgotten the halls were equipped with a telephone. How his caller had actually got a hold of the number was beyond him, but it would something the Knight would investigate thoroughly once the question of Marshmallow was solved.

He almost let the phone ring out, before reasoning that whomever was on the other end had serious information that he needed.

"This number is restricted," The Knight answered, keeping his voice deep and authoritative in the absence of his helmet's distorting microphone. "Give me one good reason to continue this conversation or I will track you down and the police will find pieces of you all over the state."

"_I know where Marshall Hansen is."_ The familiar, gravelly voice of an ally calmly said.

The Knight relaxed upon recognising his caller. This was a man who had given him accurate information up to this point and had allowed him to keep the Snow Queen under his influence. While he may not have been happy with this individual at the present moment, it was good to know that the caller still had a loyalty to the city and was smart to realise the Knight was the only one who could end it.

"Speak quickly. Explain." The Knight ordered, reaching for his scabbard and clipping it to the belt on his suit.

"_He's in the basement parking lot of Ninety-Seven West Riverside,"_ The caller succinctly revealed. _"There was an email to all residents about a burst water pipe. I understand this to mean Marshall's found nourishment. There may be collateral damage."_

"Believe me," The Knight, understanding the potential cost of this mission. Riverside had been sealed off for two square blocks, but the time of day and number of pedestrians put hundreds of citizens at risk if Marshall went on a larger rampage. For once, he was genuine. "The people will not come to harm."

"_I hope she won't either."_ The caller abruptly hung up, leaving the Knight to prepare himself for quite possibly the largest foe he had ever faced.

Based on his previous calculations on the density of the street and the measures he would to take for concealment would mean it would take him approximately half-an-hour to reach Riverside from here. He was beginning to get bored of this recently frequent trips to the wealthier district of the city.

As a precaution, he sent an encrypted message to Captain Latimer; ordering the police to evacuate the building of Ninety-Seven West Riverside. This would give him an unhindered chance to track down Marshmallow and make sure the creature never saw the light of day again. It was to this end that the White Knight selected a powerful grenade launcher before he left his lair, in the hopes the snowman was prove more susceptible to a rapid succession of powerful blasts. The only unknown facing him was the question of how large Marshmallow had grown if he had been in contact with water.

* * *

Once back inside his apartment, Olaf found it extremely difficult to do anything without being reminded of what was happening to his brother. No matter which direction he looked in, there was some tell-tale sign that Marshall had been here. Naturally, this made it very difficult to relax. If Olaf went to the balcony, he would see the glittering shards of the shattered jug which Marshall had discarded upon becoming Marshmallow. If he went to his bedroom, he would inevitably glance into the guest room where Marshall's duffel bag still lay on the covers; untouched. Even if he tried to do some work, the standard home screen of the Noble Corporation haunted his thoughts.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reconcile the idea that the company he and his best friend worked for had created something with the potential to cause this much devastation. He had always known that the scientists working within that tower had made it possible for people like Elsa to exist, and that had ultimately always been good. Elsa used her powers to help Arendelle. And all the torments in her life had made the best possible person there could be.

But now that he knew of the predecessor to Elsa's powers, he didn't know whether he could willingly continue to work for the institution which had given rise to Marshall's affliction. No matter how hard he tried, there was no way to put a positive spin on this; even with Elsa's nature in mind. He simply couldn't do what he always did when faced with a problem. There was nothing good that came of this situation. Especially if Elsa kept insisting there was no solution. What was there, if everyone already gave up hope on Marshall's rescue?

In the end, Olaf could only stare out of the window as the sun began to dive down towards the horizon. It was strange moment of apathy for him, who always tried to see the best of things and do as much as he could. His search for Marshmallow using the city's surveillance had failed to offer any leads, and there wasn't much he could do beyond that. Kristoff had promised to inform him of the first bit of evidence they had for Marshmallow's hiding place so until that time all he could do was wait.

So wait he did. He would be deaf to the world until he received that phone call.

Or so he thought, until he heard a very angry knocking at his front door. Shaking himself from his angry vacancy, Olaf turned in the direction of his small hallway and wondered just how long the unexpected visitor had been waiting there. The decently polite part of his mind suggested that no one started knocking that aggressively, and so he must have truly been ignorant to their presence if they resorted to that level of force.

"Mr Hansen? Are you in there?" A faintly familiar voice asked. Since joining Elsa in her work as the Snow Queen Olaf hadn't really had a chance to get to know his neighbours properly, although if he thought hard enough he was certain that his visitor Mrs Goldberg; a stereotypically kind old woman who lived downstairs.

Without a word, Olaf shuffled across the room with a great lack of enthusiasm. It made him wonder whether this unnerving feeling a futility was the pessimism most people complained of. To him, it was an entirely new feeling.

"Hello Mrs Goldberg," Olaf greeted glumly once he had unbolted the door. "Sorry for the wait, I was in… A world of my own."

"Are you quite alright, Olaf?" Mrs Goldberg asked with a concerned, maternal glint in her eye. "I thought I heard you come in, but when you didn't answer I worried you'd fallen or injured yourself in some way."

"No, I'm… Fine, thank you," Olaf answered, feeling terrible for lying so easily about his state of mind. He almost wished he was unconscious just to escape the nightmare, but Marshall needed his help. "I've just had a long day."

Mrs Goldberg nodded understandingly, not daring to push the matter any further. Instead, she saw it wise to skip to her reason for visiting rather than keep the obviously exhausted young man any longer.

"I just came up to tell you that a car alarm was going off in the garage, and I think you're the only one who's currently parked down there," She explained, knowing full well that every other driver in the building was, by pure coincidence, on holiday. "You may want to go down and check nothing bad has happened, especially with everything going on outside. There are enough problems already, given that the water's off as well."

With that, Mrs Goldberg ambled back towards the stairwell, leaving Olaf to direct himself as he pleased. For a few minutes after her departure, he merely remarked on the irony of her comment. To him, the worst had happened. His brother was in great pain and there was nothing he could do.

Eventually, he decided it would give him some distraction to check on the status of his car. It was probably the single most expensive item he owned, unless he grouped together all his computer technology as one thing. As such, he felt he should at least see what damage had been dealt to it. After all, he doubted anyone had closed the garage door after Marshmallow's retreat the night before. It had probably let several thieves into the building instead.

However, as he slowly meandered out of the elevator through the lobby of the apartment building Olaf was surprised to see a group of Police Officers charge through the door with an intent purpose on their faces. Many of them ignored him completely, opting instead to march to the stairwells. One pair, however, approached him carefully.

"I'm sorry sir," One officer, a woman, instructed. "We're going to have to escort you outside. This building's at risk."

At this cryptic order, Olaf's ears perked. There could be any number of reasons why the building was not safe at the moment, although all the possibilities could only have one common cause.

"Why? What's the problem?" He couldn't help but ask, his nerves too raw to show the respect he would normally give to officers of the law.

The way in which the officer turned to her companion gave them away in the end, and everything suddenly seemed to click. Olaf felt a much stronger tug towards the garage entrance than he had before. His car was quite forgotten now.

"There's a gas leak, a result of the attack last night," The officer lied, taking an imposing step towards Olaf with a hand strategically placed on her taser. "Sir, we're going to have to ask you to go outside."

Without a second thought, Olaf broke into a sprint. He barely dodged the outstretched hands of the officers and nearly fell down the concrete stairs before finally bursting through the door to the garage. And what he saw hardly surprised him.

The mystery of where all the water in the building had gone was solved as Olaf stumbled into an ankle deep flood. But this went unnoticed as his attention, along with his pursuers, was immediately captured by the glistening mass of sentient ice and snow. If it wasn't for the fact that Olaf had seen the metamorphosis mid-way through last night, he wouldn't have recognised this creature as his brother.

Huddled in the middle of the extensive puddle, slumped against the beaten form of Olaf's car, was Marshmallow. By now he must have been nearing twelve feet in height, and was bulkier in the upper torso than could be supported by the regular human frame. His neck was non-existent now, with his head merging straight into his frosty hunchback. The spikes of ice which capped his jaw, fingers, elbows and shoulders were much more jagged, demonstrated by how his nails were currently impaled into the side of Olaf's car. Most disconcertingly of all was the fact that he was completely still, as if he was just a snowman. Not a person, or the remnants of.

Against his better nature, and feeling the officers latch onto his shoulder in an attempt to drag him away from the scene, Olaf instinctively cried; "Marshall!"

It was a surprise to see the monstrous mass swivel on his knees at the sound of Olaf's voice, staring down on him with eyes surrounded by dark, near hollow sockets. Olaf couldn't be sure whether Marshmallow completely understood what he was looking at, but Elsa's certainty at his brother being lost to this virus as thrown into question when the snowman crawled in their direction. His presence alone was enough to make the officers back away with Olaf as an offering to this frozen goliath.

Marshmallow watched them with the expression of an older person looking at a photo of long ago. His soft eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but he moved his mouth in a way that Olaf could potentially read his own name on his brother's jagged lips. When Marshmallow beginning gently reaching out a mammoth hand, Olaf felt his hope return and mirrored the motion in the firm belief that Marshall could be redeemed.

But then there were a series of ricocheting _bangs_, and instead of reawakening Marshall's peaceful, reasonable side Marshmallow took control once more. His vacant expression returned, accompanied by an almighty roar which shocked the offending officers into a retreat.

Olaf could only watch as Marshmallow fell into a terrifying rage; turning on the spot and barrelling his way towards the wider exit of the garage. Despite this turn of events, Olaf saw only the hope that arose when he realised Marshmallow had not touched him in his anger.

* * *

"Are you sure you're not tired yet?" Anna asked in pure amazement as she watched Rapunzel performing what she estimated to be the two-hundredth chin up in under two hours.

"I don't think so," Rapunzel answered, equally amazed at her remarkable performance of strength and endurance. If she were to be honest, she had completely forgotten what tiredness felt like. For the past month all she had experienced was a indestructible urge of energy which had previously been focussed on worrying what her condition was.

Now that Anna and Rapunzel the brunette's mutation was stable, they had set about testing her limits. This was mostly at the behest of Anna, although her younger cousin had been curious to know just how far she could push herself before she had to call it a day. In pursuit of this, Anna had generously purchased an entire home gym set which had been stuffed into her living room; including a selection of extensively heavy weights, a treadmill and the pull-up bar which was drilled into the beam above the threshold of the kitchen.

So far, Rapunzel had proven inexhaustible. The afternoon had passed with her athlete level performance on the treadmill, during which she had run the equivalent of a marathon in under four hours. She had barely broken a sweat as she kept a steady pace, although it seemed her need for minerals and materials had eventually won out. After finishing her record-breaking race, Rapunzel had eaten all the left-over Chinese food; becoming energised and shaking off the pain in her legs in a matter of moments. When Anna tried a similar feat, she had toppled of the treadmill after fifteen minutes; red-faced and breathing heavily, but insisting she was fine in a gasping whisper all the while.

As for the weights, they hadn't seen it as a pressing necessity to test how much Rapunzel could lift. Her performance with the mugger the night before had more or less proven that, in a crunch, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. There was also the added concern in that Rapunzel was not invincible and was still as prone to injury as everyone else. Anna was scared of putting too much pressure on her in case too much exercise caused unnecessary agony, no matter how short lived it would be. Regardless, Rapunzel had shown that exertion in moderation was manageable as she continued to lift herself up to the ceiling using her deceptively slim arms.

For once, the world didn't seem like a dark place to Rapunzel. Her powers granted her more confidence when it came to facing the unknown, or she thought it would when she eventually did reach the threshold of her experiences. Whether she would be allowed to go one more adventures by herself once she returned to Corona was a question, but she felt a determination to manage it one way or another. The only solid thing standing in her way was the bullet which was still embedded in her abdomen, but this time tomorrow it should be gone and Rapunzel could continue her new life. A greater freedom than most could have beckoned her.

"How many have you done now?" Rapunzel said, glancing down at Anna.

Having recovered from her folly with the treadmill, Anna had turned to the more controlled practice of lifting a few weights. This seemed to agree with her much more than the constant race she had put herself under earlier, since she was not entirely familiar with the control panel of the machine she had bought only a few hours before but could not make a mistake in the simple art of a bicep curl. It especially appealed to her when she realised she could still work out in conjunction with sitting down and watching _The Simpsons_.

"Forty, I think?" Anna guessed, swapping arms and shaking the tension out of her hand. "That's between both arms as well. I'm not even sure if I'm doing it right."

Dropping down from bar, having counted her way to two-hundred-and-fifteen pull-ups, Rapunzel carefully inspected the collective weight Anna was using and was surprised to find thirty pounds in combined plates. To the fitness amateur, this seemed like a very heavy choice for quite casual lifts. Anna didn't even appear to be that hindered by the mass of metal, although she wasn't entirely fluid in her curls either. Perhaps Anna was just stronger than she looked. Of course, Rapunzel had never thought she was weak. Indeed, Anna's moral, psychological and physical determination was but one reason Rapunzel admired her as a cousin.

"Can I try that?" Rapunzel asked, gently but firmly taking the dumbbell from Anna. She was even more puzzled when she felt the metal bar make contact with her admittedly clammy hands. "It's cold."

Anna looked around at Rapunzel, her face blank of a reaction to this bizarre observation.

"Is it?" She responded, nonplussed even though most people would expect a clutch such a Anna's to have at least warmed the metal slightly. "Okay."

Rapunzel's eyes flicked to the white streak in Anna's hair, spinning a private theory to explain this abnormality. She began to question Anna's 'regular' anatomy. There had never been any indication that the redhead was biologically unusual, and she certainly had nothing like Elsa's capabilities. But Rapunzel couldn't help but wonder whether there was some similarity between the sisters. Maybe nothing massive, but something.

"I just have cold hands," Anna explained, seemingly understanding that Rapunzel was thinking of the Snow Queen's abilities. "Hans complains about it a lot. I think I just have a low heart rate and blood pressure, or that's what Google said. Apparently if you're healthy you just have a slightly lower body temperature."

Rapunzel wouldn't have called Anna particularly healthy. She was skinny, yes, but the redhead also had a diet which seemed to consist mostly of takeaways and candy. Unless Anna was much better at running than she let on, Rapunzel was still inclined to secretly wonder over the exact relation she had to Elsa.

From the hallway, Anna's landline began to trill in a cry for attention. Wordlessly, but with a heavy sigh of exertion, Anna clambered to her feet and quickly answered the phone before it went through to her answering machine.

"Hello?" She said, recognising the speaker quickly afterwards and talking confidently. "Yeah, it's all good, we're just atching some TV and doing a work out… I can work out!... Alright, she's just over here." Practically leaping back into the living room, Anna held the phone out to Rapunzel, who had not realised that there was only one other 'she' in the apartment. It was a surprise to get a phone call in someone else's home. "It's Pabbie. He wants to rearrange the surgery for tomorrow."

Taking the phone at once, Rapunzel pressed it to her ear; ready to make any necessary changes to her plan for the next day. With Anna, there was never any strict routine anyway, and it was not to have flexible, unscheduled weeks for once.

"Hello?" She said, although her expectation for the call quickly changed once Pabbie started talking.

_"Rapunzel. Listen. Find somewhere private to speak, I don't want Anna to figure out what we're talking about,"_ Pabbie sounded agitated, even worried sick. It was a wonder he had managed to prevent Anna from becoming aware of an issue just from his short chat with her. _"Is she out of earshot?"_

Acting as natural as possible, Rapunzel slipped into the kitchen before quietly assuring the old man of his request.

"What is it?" Rapunzel asked, eyes focussed on Anna, who didn't look away from the television nor was aware of the alarming nature of this call.

_"This is only just getting onto the news,"_ Pabbie went on, voice trembling slightly in fright. _"Do you remember the snowman attack last night?"_

"Yes." The real question was how Rapunzel _could not _be aware of it. In typical fangirl fashion, Anna had spent the morning before the meeting with Pabbie reading all the articles on the 'Marshmallow' and adding it to her board of Snow Queen facts. The fact it had taken place just next door to Olaf' apartment was of particular interest to the redhead, and made her suspect the Snow Queen was following her just as much as she was chasing the vigilante. If only she knew half of it.

_"He's on another rampage, this time against the police. Worse, he's heading towards the river."_ In contrast to her knowledge of the events of the night before, Rapunzel was wondering why Pabbie was so concerned over this. From what Elsa and Kristoff had said, it was apparent that the aged scientist had morally quit the vigilante business and had not contacted them since.

"Why is the river a problem?" Rapunzel questioned, trying to keep her comments a neutrally voiced and unintelligible as possible in case Anna was, in fact, eavesdropping.

_"If he reaches the river, he could grow to unprecedented proportions. Everyone in Riverside is at risk. He's barely in control of his actions and Elsa is sure to try engaging him in combat again,"_ Pabbie explained, making Rapunzel's ears twitch when she heard of the public being endangered. _"And I don't think she can survive it by herself._"

"Why can't she?" Now Rapunzel was beginning to become scared. Elsa, who had saved her life, was at particular risk. She had no idea why, but if Pabbie was terrified enough to get himself involved then it must be serious. Elsa hadn't actually tried to contact her or Anna since last night, which marked itself as strange now that she thought about it.

There was a scuffling on the opposite end of the line, almost like the screech of tyres as if someone was racing down the evening roads in a car.

_"Because he can absorb anything she creates,"_ Pabbie quickly explained, sounding almost annoyed that no one else had realised it. _"He's looking for things that can build his mass. Water is the best he can get so far, but Elsa is the most efficient source. To him, she's a ready-meal. He nearly killed her last night and she won't stand much of a chance tonight. You need to be there. Help her, please."_

The way he side the last part of his sentence sounded more like an order than a request, but Rapunzel's mind still boggled at the fact that Pabbie wanted her to do something in aid of the Snow Queen. A month ago he had been completely against the idea of bringing her into the fold, and now he was asking her to throw herself into the fray against a colossal snowman. There was no question in whether Rapunzel would actually do it or not, only disbelief at this complete turnaround on Pabbie's stance.

But that was not something she should focus on. The simple matter was that Elsa, her cousin and Anna's sister, who was forever taxing herself in aid of complete strangers, would be in trouble if she faced Marshmallow alone. And it was while watching Anna that she finally responded.

"What do I need to do?"

_"You can't show your face in public and use your powers,"_ Pabbie immediately informed her, while a car horn blared on his end of the phone. _"The police are already pursuing two genetically engineered people, we do not want them knowing who you are as well. You have to make yourself unknown."_

"And how do I do that?" Even as the words left her mouth, Rapunzel got the distinct impression of where this was going.

_"Do you remember where North Mount Station is?"_ Pabbie asked. Rapunzel nodded, and Pabbie continued despite the fact he would have no idea how she answered. _"There are other suits like Elsa's on one of the lower platforms, find one and take a mask. Then you have to get to Riverside. Elsa isn't there yet, but she probably will be by the time you can get there. Do you understand?"_

"Yes," Rapunzel blurted out, panicked when Anna cluelessly cast a curious glance in her direction. "Yeah, I can do that. I'll see you at the surgery tomorrow."

Pabbie understood that Rapunzel was still trying to disguise their conversation, and chose to end the phone call there with a hasty and heartfelt thanks. This left Rapunzel to now try to navigate her way out of the apartment without raising Anna suspicions of Pabbie's link to the events taking place at the Riverside.

Fortunately, by some cosmic coincidence, Anna yelled for Rapunzel to come into the living room only a few moments after putting the pone down. When she entered the room, Rapunzel found her cousin scrambling to pick up the remote and change the channel to the local news station; which was currently showing breaking coverage of the events at Riverside. Uncertain as to how Anna would suddenly be aware of this, Rapunzel inspected the scene and quickly noticed that Anna's phone was unlocked and displaying a tweet about the (hashtagged) snowman in Arendelle. Evidently it was one of many trending stories that Anna had chosen to follow on Twitter in her pursuit of the Snow Queen.

The volume was turned up so that Anna could listen intently to the unfolding story, although there wasn't much the newscaster could say with certainty. Besides, the aerial video feed spoke for itself as it followed the path destruction cast by a twelve-foot-tall snow monster which was brushing entire waves of police officers away with its shimmering claws. Bullets did not seem to effect the progress it was making, and it was obvious that the mindlessly approaching crowd of bystanders assembling behind the police built street partition would be just as easily knocked away. No one had any clue what was going on down there, and the Snow Queen was yet to be seen.

However, Rapunzel wasn't looking at the screen or listening to any of the comments made by Anna. Instead she found herself staring at the old box of dressing up clothes Elsa had sent over earlier this week. For some reason, 'disguise' was the only word in her head as she watched the inert box. Then something in her finally clicked and she became a whirlwind of action.

Quicker than she registered, Rapunzel hopped over the couch and tore the lid off the box, before literally throwing its contents across the room until she found what she was looking for. Soon enough the old blonde wig came into her grasp. Then she was read to barge out of the door.

Anna as taken aback by this sudden change in Rapunzel, and quickly redirected her attention to the shorter woman who held herself with the tension of a spring, eyebrows furrowed in thoughts which raced by at a hundred miles per hour.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked, finding it hard to keep up with her cousin.

"Anna, I have to go," Rapunzel explained, deciding that for once Anna needed to hear the truth. "I have to go help the Snow Queen. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but you need to stay here because I can't have you following me and getting hurt. God knows Elsa would never forgive if that happened. And make sure you come up with a good name for me when you're blogging about this later."

Before Anna could protest or challenge or promise to follow these instruction, Rapunzel pounced like a cheetah out of the apartment and sprinted of down the halls. With her enhanced speed there was no way Anna could follow her. Time was of the essence, and she finally understood why Elsa chose to keep her family at arm's length. It was helpful to think that Anna would stay safe.

Of course, there was also the weight of knowing that Anna would go down to Riverside regardless of what Rapunzel said.

* * *

The platoons of police officers split before Marshmallow's long strides. When someone got too lose, they were thrown backwards like a ragdoll to clear his path. It was obvious where he was heading. Everyone in the street, particularly those who ran in front of the cold beast, was in view of the glittering river. None of them comprehended what would happen when Marshmallow came into contact with the water. If the police thought such a being was indestructible now, they were in for a real surprise.

But as Olaf raced down an empty side street in an attempt to overtake his brother, his only thought was that more Marshmallow mutated the harder it would be to get Marshall back. And he was now certain Marshall could be retrieved. His major worry now was that Elsa would intervene before he could tell her.

At every alleyway connecting the two parallel streets, Olaf was able to her the echoes of shots being fired and the screams of the public as people continued to put themselves in Marshmallow's way. He silently cursed the two police officer who had ruined Marshall's tranquil state of kind in the garage. The snow man would have come peacefully if he hadn't been provoked. Olaf knew better than anyone that Marshall seldom resorted to violence outside of service.

After racing down four blocks, Olaf estimated that he had been able to overtake Marshmallow; so he now swung around a corner to put himself in the path of destruction. His hope was that, like when he had first entered the garage, Marshall would recognise him. Perhaps his presence might even calm the monster inside and allow the pair to escape the scene in an intelligent manner this time. Olaf had no idea where they could go to hide, but that was a bridge which would be crossed when necessary.

The alleyway Olaf had chosen deposited him in a crowded street of deserted cars approximately fifty metres ahead of Marshmallow. Members of the public and a few cops were rushing through the gaps between the vehicles in the hopes of outrunning the giant, making it difficult for Olaf to push his way into the centre of the road. Thankfully he was able to clamber atop one car near the centre of the road, giving him the perfect platform to begin yelling and waving his arms like a lunatic in order to grab Marshmallow's attention.

Unfortunately, Marshmallow was too distracted and not yet close enough to hear Olaf's yells, but Olaf had faith that Marshall would take notice and end this. It would work. Peace could be restored.

But then Olaf felt the car suddenly rock as another force crashed down onto it. Before he could even realise what was happening, a powerful hand grabbed the front of his shirt. With an unexpected strength, Olaf was twirled on the spot and lifted off the hood of the car to stare directly into the blank, reflective visor of the White Knight.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." The Knight enunciated menacingly, drawing out each word in that terrifying, artificial voice of his.

Olaf was then flung onto a neighbouring vehicle, too shocked to react straight away. Instead, he watched as the White Knight levelled his gaze on the quickly approaching snowman, lifting a threateningly large weapon onto his shoulder in the process. There was a moment of calm, then a small explosion seemed to erupt from where the Knight stood.

The blast caught the attention of all the escaping people, bringing them around to realise there was another costumed character standing in their midst; apparently saving them. But Olaf saw, almost in slow motion, the gunmetal grey projectile which burst forth from the Knight's launcher.

As he watched the grenade tumble through the air, he tried to leap forward as if he might be able to catch the explosive. Although he was much too slow and the grenade was on too high a trajectory to be intercepted.

Instead, Olaf barely had time to yell Marshall's name before a ball of fire sprang into existence directly over the spot where his brother's heart should be.

* * *

**Dun-dun duh…**

**Please review.**


	25. The Snowman - Part Six

**Okay, so this took far longer than I thought it would. I kind of got caught up in a family holiday and then had a few weeks of shock after results came out (was not a great time) and then I lost half the chapter. So here I am, presenting to you all a terribly long-winded, 20,000+ word chapter I finished one rainy day in Suffolk, while on another holiday.**

**As for the responses; I saw you all liked Marshmallow and do not want him to die. Unfortunately, his fate is just something you'll have to find out among these pages and paragraphs. I wonder if this is how George R.R. Martin feels when he publishes a new book? **

**To GinsengH (and SharKohen, and anyone else who picked up on the eerie knowledge of the Knight's informant), I will allow you the hint that that particular mystery will be solved in this chapter as well. As for the relationship between Elsa and Goddard, I would say that Elsa only keeps him around because if she fired him, about half the board would revolt and question her judgement. And an unstable board is something she wouldn't be able to manage at the present moment. **

**Also, to Shadowtiger999, I'd say the Knight is very careful and likes to know all the results of his periphery projects. I wouldn't be surprised if he was already of Rapunzel's abilities thanks to certain people… **

**To Huskerman3; I bid thee welcome. I'm pleased myself that all the characters fit in so easily to a superhero story. I swear Jennifer Lee initially planned **_**Frozen**_** as one.**

**Finally, a thank you to all my reviewers. If I responded when I was more awake, I would probably find an answer for all of you that would also keep you guessing. But, to Stalburkslover, I like to think I do have something great coming. I'm particularly proud of the next arc. Danke for your faith in my abilities. **

* * *

There was a moment, after the grenade blast, that both Olaf and the White Knight were able to spot the form of Marshmallow over the haze of the fireball which leaped into its short life. In that brief moment where the unlikely pair had to avert their eyes, it seemed the pedestrians and motorists who had stampeded away from the rampaging snowman had all miraculously escaped. When the ringing in his ears and the blinding light ahead of him finally faded, Olaf was at last able to see the grisly doom of his brother and it was not half as bad as had feared.

For one, Marshall was obviously still alive. Apparently, the momentary distraction of Olaf's presence had caused the White Knight to miscalculate his aim, causing the grenade to actually explode several feet in front of the snowman rather than on dead centre. There also may have been an element of Marshall having a different body chemistry to what was expected by his foe. True, Marshall was composed mainly of snow by this point. But what the Knight had not anticipated, but the Snow Queen might have, was that the snow and ice were drawn into a more rigid biological compound which was more capable of absorbing extreme force.

Due to this, after the smoke had cleared, the weakened form of Marshmallow lumbered forwards again. The blast had still dealt some damage and had stripped him of his outer layers of snow, with parts of his icy skeleton revealed. And the cries of distress he made were certainly pained. Yet the grenade had failed to stop him as his twisted, slimmer form stumbled across to the pavement and began grappling at the ground for an unidentified object.

Obviously not happy with this failure, the White Knight raised the grenade launcher to his shoulder again to take a better aim. This time, he positioned the weapon so that the projectile would take a higher arc directly into Marshmallow's head. He was interested to see whether the centre of all of Marshmallow's function was still housed in that smooth, white dome or if his brain had indeed been processed into a different structure. So with a greater certainty and a twisted curiosity fuelling him, he pulled down on the trigger.

If uninterrupted, the grenade would have found its target. It probably would have succeeded in felling Marshmallow or certainly weaken him further to the point another round or two would have put him down permanently. But, in the second between the White Knight fired and the grenade launched, Olaf rugby tackled the taller villain off the bonnet of the car to send the explosive flying off-course.

The grenade burst a decent fifteen feet to the right of Marshall, dealing more damage to the building beside the giant rather than to him. Glass shattered and concrete crumbled, along with a telephone pole splintering and collapsing. In all, the only blow the second attempt dealt to Marshmallow was the impact of the wooden column on top of him, which hurt him far less than the grenade would have. The metal, cabled top lodged itself in his back, although he didn't appear to worry about this immediately. He merely continued trying to grasp the same spot in the pavement.

"You idiot!" The White Knight bellowed once he had assessed the situation.

With a powerful punch to the jaw, Olaf was flung from the Knight's chest onto the hard road. He rubbed the bruising area, spitting away the blood before renewing his struggling with undeniably formidable foe. The Knight proved his physical superiority to Olaf quickly, as he grabbed the shorter man's neck with a python-like grip. Olaf then found himself pushed against a neighbouring car, looking directly down the blade of the White Knight's sword.

"He's not your brother," The Knight asserted, tone angry at having been trifled with twice. "So stay out of my way!" Then he thrust forward with the sword.

Olaf squeezed his eyes shut, wondering what to expect from being stabbed. The pain of having the body skewered, blood leaking out of the wound. Apparently major blood loss made its victims feeler colder, while the world was supposed to quietly filter away. First as the eyes stopped, last when the ears ceased to capture any sound. But Olaf did not encounter any of these sensations, a fact which surprised him. He opened one eye a fraction at this confusion, and found that the Knight had only imbedded his sword into the metal of the car, snagging Olaf's shirt to hold him there in the process.

During this distraction, neither the White Knight nor Olaf realised what Marshmallow was doing until they heard a terrific _crunch_ emanating from his side of the street. While it was difficult for Olaf to twist his neck around to see what had happened, it was not difficult to guess. Less than a minute after the tearing noise a light spray began to drizzle from above, even though the night sky was clear. His efforts may not have directly saved his brother, but the brief struggle Olaf had started with the Knight gave Marshmallow the chance to pull a fire hydrant out of the street. As a result, this unleashed an artificial rain and enough moisture for Marshmallow to now regenerate his body completely.

Already, his slim, twisted form had begun to fill out into an even more formidable size. The grimace of anger on his face only sent the message that he was not willing to go down without a fight, and while he was within the area of the spray he could withstand most of what was dealt to him.

Not wasting any more time on a task he already knew to be pointless, the Knight tried to obliterate the snowman with the grenade launcher once more. Unfortunately for him, the tangle with Olaf had caused him to smash the targeting sensor into the concrete. This virtually left him unable to take precisely calculated aim and reliant purely on his own instinct. As it turned out, had the White Knight used his own judgement in the first place he might have killed Marshmallow by now. On the third attempt, now, the grenade went sailing across the open space in a perfect trajectory to rip the giant apart.

Except that Marshall lazily moved and still caught the bomb in his large hands. He didn't seem to worry very much about the potential damage this could do, and idly watched as the explosion dispersed his hand over a wide area, with a lesser force than the previous two due his absorption of the blast. And yet the stump did not bother Marshall in the slightest, and the Knight could see why. Within the mist of water the snowman's lost appendage was already beginning to regrow, and in under two minutes new claws shined in the evening sun.

The White Knight had one grenade left, and he knew better than to try again while there was still a plentiful source of water. But while he observed the rapid regeneration, he found a new weakness in Marshmallow's biology. It was evident from the small splits that started to appear at his joints, where the weight of his limbs became too great from the snow that held him together to manage. In delicious irony, the source of Marshall Hansen's strength was a great weakness.

On the first occasion of a Marshmallow rampage, the Knight had wondered just how much water the mutant could take in. Any child knew that snow was not the best building material, and it could only have been due to cellular control of the molecules that the snow-monster remained intact. Of course, his manipulation of the Snow Queen's powers had given the Knight a reason to think again. Surely the amount of raw material the winter woman could produce was more than enough to cause Marshmallow to collapse. Yet now it seemed they just hadn't been in contact long enough for that to occur. Perhaps Marshmallow was finally reaching his upper limit and was beginning to crumble as a result. Unfortunately, the rate of splitting and repair was near enough balanced. The Knight would need something much larger to take out his creation.

A plan quickly came to mind. Turning back to Olaf, the Knight retracted his sword from the car before twisting around to hold the younger Hansen in a half-nelson grip. With his free hand, he held the sword just above Olaf's neck to remind his captive who was in charge. Not that Olaf listened at all.

"Marshall! Help!" Olaf yelled, desperate to get his brother's full attention.

And, luckily for the both of them, Marshall looked up at the scene just as the Knight began to drag Olaf away. It helped the White Knight's cause that there was still a glimmer of intelligence left in the snowman, who began lumbering after them with a shriek on his lips. The telegraph still stuck out of his back, and held him back briefly before he sharply twisted, tearing all the cables away from the apartment blocks. The Knight merely smiled to himself under his mask, especially as Olaf kept calling for help from his brother. Everything was playing out he wanted it to now.

That is, until Marshall realised he could save his brother much more quickly if he incapacitated the Knight from a distance. And, with this end in mind, he reached back and pulled the broken shaft of the telegraph pole from his shoulder. It was, in all, a half-baked plan which still put Olaf at risk, but he was already in the motion of releasing the heavy wood after a mighty swing just as he left the perimeter of the hydrant's mist.

Olaf saw the trunk of wood flying towards them first, giving a sharp yell and pushing back against the Knight in the hopes of pushing them both other. The Knight, having looked away for but one moment to inspect the road he was retreating on, misinterpreted this as a new struggle until he too saw the beam sailing threateningly close to them. Out of instinct, he pushed his prisoner out of the way first, since Olaf was far more valuable to him alive.

But this left no time for him to get out of the way, and he was almost hit until there was a flash of purple in the corner of his way. Then he was harshly barged to the ground. There was no noise which suggested the telegraph pole had yet crashed into the road.

"God, that's heavy." A distinctly feminine voice grunted from the spot where the Knight had stood previously.

It was undignified for the White Knight to roll over in the dirt to inspect this new arrival, but he did so regardless as he was truly surprised by this occurrence. And, secretly, thankful.

Standing above, a beam of wood and metal held in too rather slim arms, was a girl the Knight knew he had seen before. In all his studying of the opportunity to steal the GDU, he had come to Rapunzel Engel to the point he could recognize her by voice alone and he had seen it necessary to have her followed when she had miraculously survived the experience with the Stabbingtons. To her credit, however, her disguise was well thought out, as it both disguised her regular features but still gave her a relaxed, approachable, human appearance. To hide her natural brunette hair from whatever witnesses there may be to the rampage, she had donned a shoulder-length golden blonde wig which was rather convincing. Meanwhile, she had obviously paid a visit to the Snow Queen's lair in order to procure a copy of the fanged, blue mask which was used by Arendelle's regular vigilante.

A criticism of this disguise, however, was that the suit she had put on was a completely different colour to the mask. Through his research in the creation of his own suit, the White Knight had become deeply familiar with history of the protective suits he, the Snow Queen, and now Rapunzel Engel, wore. Whether she had chosen the suit randomly or by convenience, the purple-and-lilac costume Engel had put on was one of the earliest designs put forward for testing, a fact which was denoted the sleeves which ended in the mid forearm and the thicker vest on the abdomen. Otherwise, the Snow Queen and Engel were identical in terms of costume, excluding the four inches of height difference.

With a groan of exertion, Engel pushed the telegraph pole a few feet ahead of her, keeping it clear of hurting any of her companions. The Knight had known she was strong, but this was a slightly greater feat than he had anticipated.

"Olaf!" Engel exclaimed when she saw her friend darting to his feet. "What's going on? What are you doing here?" Then she observed the full scale of Marshmallow for the first time. "And what the hell is that?!"

Not missing a beat, and appearing to largely accept Rapunzel's presence and abilities at face value, Olaf kept his eyes on the advancing form of his brother. From the continued expression of anger, particularly when Rapunzel laid a hand gently on Olaf's shoulder, it could be surmised that the snowman still thought the younger man was in danger. It was likely that he had mistaken her catching of the telegraph pole for an act camaraderie with the White Knight, whom she had directly saved from injury, if not death.

"It's Marshall." Olaf frantically admitted, hoping Rapunzel would be more reasonable in trying to save his brother.

"_That's _Marshall?!" She repeated in disbelief, acknowledging that a number strange things had been happening during her time in Arendelle but this case took the prize for the most bizarre. "But he's massive!"

"'Punzel, you've got to save him!" Olaf pleaded, never taking his eyes away from the snow-monster that he still considered family. "There's got to be something you can do!"

But _what_ exactly she was meant to do was a question Rapunzel had no clue as to answering. She'd only rushed down here from the surprisingly empty Ice Palace to help Elsa, who she couldn't help but notice was not here. Now there was a demand to rescue a man she barely knew who may not even qualify as human anymore. She did not envy the Snow Queen in the slightest for this responsibility. Did Elsa's choices always become this complex? How on earth was she meant to rescue a creature from this big from an enemy she couldn't identify?

"There is one thing you do," An electronic voice said from behind Rapunzel. She turned in surprise, only to find the strange man she had just rescued standing over her shoulder. "If you want to get him out of here, you must take him to the river. It's the clearest path out of Arendelle and the only one large enough to accommodate him."

Having never encountered this man before, Rapunzel had no idea whether to believe him or not. There was no way to judge his character, his soul, from his exterior looks since they were all hidden beneath plastic and metal and Kevlar. The only impressions Rapunzel had from his strange guise and body language was that he was not a man to cross, but he was also somewhat clueless as to how to approach her. Which Rapunzel figured, would be fair no matter his allegiance. He had probably expected the Snow Queen and instead there was a girl with strength regular men could only dream of possessing. And that didn't even take her healing factor into account.

The only way she could assess whether the man in white as worth listening to was to consult Olaf. Yet when she looked at her friend, all she saw was a man equally sceptical. His face spoke volumes as to how apprehensive he was to believe the Knight, but at the same time Rapunzel could see the process of consternation turning to hope and then complete faith.

"You want to help Marshall?" Olaf asked with all of his previous enthusiasm funnelled onto a man he had questioned the morals of.

The Knight looked like he was about to answer, but then he grabbed both Olaf and Rapunzel before yanking them back several feet. Shining claws slashed past Rapunzel's face, barely catching her cheek and drawing out a thin, red line. Evidently she was not yet able to prioritize her focus, a skill which may cost her dearly if she were meant to help face down the enraged snowman.

Whatever tentative mental state Marshall was meant to be in, it was obvious that anger was very easy to fall into as he continued attempting to claw Rapunzel and the Knight in a decidedly unfocused attack. At least, Rapunzel supposed, there was still enough of the soldier left to leave Olaf out of his frenzy. However, Olaf was less than helpful as he merely retreated further down the road and began shouting supposedly calming motivation. This left the costumed pair alone in their pursuit of a constructive answer.

Most of Marshall's rage was focussed on the Knight, who darted, rolled and parried expertly to avoid being gripped in the icy fists. If she were more notorious and pragmatic, Rapunzel supposed she would have used Marshall's distraction as an opportunity to find a full solution to the problem. But, conflicted with her sense of repaying the White Knight's life-saving act of pulling away and being largely inexperienced in fighting twelve-foot tall snowmen, she instead dove for something which may provide a sliver of time to hear the Knight's plan. If there was much more than taking Marshall to the river.

It was a simple matter, for her, of somersaulting over Marshall's stretching arm and then rolling between his legs to reach the telegraph pole. As she recalled, at one end of the wooden trunk was a small metal grid with a considerable length of cable trailing away from it. It was this thick wire that she was interested in, given her intent to halt Marshall's progress.

At the Olympic level pace she had practiced with Anna, Rapunzel started weaving between Marshall's legs in great loops which she quickly pulled taught around his feet. Soon enough, the snowman was having difficulties in stepping forwards, although he unfortunately noticed the source of this impediment and turned his attention away from the slippery form of the Knight to the purple blur underneath him. This, Rapunzel thought, was a success to some extent. She had managed to give the Knight a chance to get out of range and immobilise Marshall.

But, unlike her expectations, the Knight did not come to her assistance nor stop to thoroughly explain his plan. He _had_ taken the time to step back to escape immediate danger, but when Rapunzel glanced over to him she saw that he was instead very interested in a hidden incident taking place down a nearby alley way.

Turning to observe the situation once more, the Knight scanned Olaf's position, glimpsed at Rapunzel's running of laps and then rounded on the alley and calmly walked towards it.

"Get him to the river." He simply instructed before disappearing and leaving Rapunzel to her adopted task.

* * *

Just beyond the outer perimeter of the police blockade around Riverside a certain public figure staggered through the rooftop doorway of the apartment building neighbouring Olaf's residence. Despite Kristoff's instructions, Elsa had barely made it out of downtown Arendelle before being alerted to the rapidly developing distress taking place exactly where the pair had theorised it to be. Without a second thought she had ordered Kai to turn around under the pretence of finding Olaf and getting him out of there, although at the first opportunity Elsa skipped into an open door and transformed herself into the Snow Queen on the way up the stairwell.

The lack of sleep and physical backlash from her previous encounter with Marshmallow was still hampering with her focus, to the extent that her vision was beginning to blur. Even worse, Elsa's powers were still intermittent at best. If she tried hard enough then a little mound of snow might form before the strain become too much. In her opinion, she would be worse than useless. But there was no one else who knew how to deal with the situation at hand and almost certainly no one who could help. At best, she might be able to distract Marshmallow long enough for him to calm down.

Although she couldn't afford the time, Elsa leant against the doorframe to catch her breath and learn the current specifics of the rampage.

"Kristoff," She disconcertingly rasped into the small microphone. "Give me some good news. What's going on?"

"_I would if I could," _He answered after a moment's scuffling on the other end. "_I've been called in to keep people out, so I can't monitor and I'll have to keep communications brief. Where are you?"_

Another blow to their position. Without anyone to man the news terminals or hack the cameras, Elsa was practically going in blind. True, there wasn't much that could be gained from such a vigil, but it was an aid which might have afforded Elsa a bit more confidence. She would feel more supported by having someone literally watch her back.

"I'm on a roof on the north side of the River, next door to Olaf's. Can you get me across the blockade?" She said, stumbling to the edge of the roof and looking down on the street.

The road below her was deserted, except for the two police officers who guarded the mouth of an alley which no doubt led deeper into the quarantined section of the city. As a precaution the pair had shifted two dumpsters into forming a small barricade to further dissuade the non-existent intruders from crossing over. On any other day, Elsa might have used her powers to distract these guards before vaulting across such an obstacle with ease. But today she was bound by the limits regular people faced. Her feet hardly left the ground when she took a step forwards; so how on earth would she fight her way to Marshmallow and Olaf?

"_I'm stuck a few blocks further down," _Kristoff related, sounding partially distracted by whatever he could see. "_I'm not that far from Marshmallow, and I can't leave without there being a good, and legal, reason. Sorry, you're on your own."_

In all the years Elsa had felt the world was trying to foil her at every turn, never had it been this obvious about doing it. No one was manning the camera systems from the Ice Palace, Kristoff was bound to his police duties and Olaf was scampering after the remains of his brother. Even Pabbie's assistance would be welcome, but he had made no efforts in contacting her. From within the barricaded zone of Riverside, a fourth explosion echoed across the streets; followed by an enraged, inhuman roar. And she was stuck outside. The situation looked terrible from her vantage point. She may as well know how bad it was from someone else's perspective.

"What can you see? Do you know what's going on?" Elsa muttered under the exhausting weight of pressured responsibility.

"_We have one snow monster, one civilian standing in his path, one man in a mask waving a sword around and three swat teams about to enter, sir." _Kristoff responded, his voice taking on a different tone. Elsa supposed he must have been pretending to speak to a higher ranking officer to disguise the conversation, meaning that his cover was not entirely escaping the attention of his colleagues who inevitably surrounded him.

"Wait," Elsa needlessly instructed, processing all of Kristoff's descriptions. "The White Knight? He's here?"

"_Affirmative." _Kristoff immediately answered, continuing his charade of following procedure. "_He's the one responsible for those explosions. From what fleeing civilians have been saying, he was trying to blow up… Marshmallow."_

Elsa almost wished she hadn't asked now. If she knew Olaf at all, she could safely presume he was confronting the White Knight as they spoke. Before, Elsa had hoped that Marshmallow would at least recognise Olaf as his brother and leave him alone. But with the pale psychopath in there Olaf was in a whole new measure of danger.

A pang of guilt stabbed Elsa in the centre of her chest. She simply had to get inside the blockade. It was for this reason that she began scanning the outside of the building in the hopes she might be able to take a page out of Flynn Rider's book. And she was in luck, because on the corner of the building a telegraph pole and cable were positioned in such a way that she would be able to swing into the fray. Or fall like a failed jungle man directly into the hands of the police.

"_The first swat team is entering now, sir." _Kristoff informed her, his worry slipping through his controlled façade of professionalism. If she was going to swing in, it had to now.

But a sudden clattering in the street caught Elsa's attention. It also caught the focus of the two officers guarding the wall of dumpsters. Although she couldn't see from where she stood, Elsa could imagine what was happening on the street level, especially when the distinctive noise of _shattering _glass erupted from a store front roughly half way down the street. She came to the conclusion it was a looter who was taking advantage of the emptiness of the roads. Fortunately, the officers reached a similar reasoning which thankfully pulled them from monitoring the alley to investigate.

This was her chance, Elsa realised. Even if she didn't quite get the lift over the dumpsters, she could still just drop down to the pavement and clamber across instead. And time was of the essence, since she didn't know when the police would be finished dealing with the broken window.

However, it was while tugging the wire from the wall (a feat which was disappointingly difficult) that Elsa saw the last thing she wanted. Down at the mouth of the alley, where the two police officers had been standing not two minutes before, a familiar head of red hair shuffled in a crouch to the dumpsters, having used the parked cars as cover.

Anna was here. Anna was climbing into the cordoned off part of the city, The same part of the city where a murderous lunatic was trying to a kill a man she knew and was taking a prisoner out of her friend. A lunatic who probably knew the significance of Anna Noble to the Snow Queen.

With a burst of strength she didn't know she still had; Elsa ripped the cable from its fastening to the wall, wrapped the loose end around her wrist a few times to secure her hold and, without a second thought, flung herself from the roof. All she had to direct her travel was an understanding of pendulums and a drive to save Anna.

And the motion worked to its greatest potential, as the cable became taut just as Elsa was about to touch the ground in the middle of the road and pulled her back up in a high arc which set her on a collision path with Anna. The impact took her sister by surprise, as Elsa managed to uncoil the cable for her arm just as Anna was on top of the dumpster. Instinctively, Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna and twisted so that she would land beneath the redhead. The suit, as always, absorbed much of the impact with the gravelled alleyway, but in her weakened state Elsa still felt the bite of the pebbles on what little was left bare. A stinging across her cheekbone indicated a rough graze while her knuckles were splotched with red upon inspection.

With a groan, Anna bounced back to her feet once she realised who the interloper was. Elsa was less than happy to be pulled upright after such a journey, although she did her best not complain.

"Oh my God!" Anna cried, brushing the dust which had accumulated on the blue suit away. "Are you alright? Why did you do that?"

"To keep you out of danger!" Elsa unwillingly yelled back once she had turned her voice changer on. "Do you have any idea what's in here? Why do I keep finding you in places like _this_, Anna?"

"But you actually pushed me in?" Anna answered, although she made her point as more of a question. "Hang on, you remember my name?"

Elsa cursed herself as she realised that her two identities had overlapped. From the outside, Anna could only see the Snow Queen. She only saw a superhero, with a surprisingly unclear alter ego. Thinking back over her past interactions with Anna while in the Snow Queen's guise, Elsa realised that she had only directly spoken to the redhead a maximum of two times and had never given any indication that her vigilante persona knew who Anna was. There had certainly never been a moment when the Snow Queen had the word 'Anna' in her sister's presence.

"Of course I remember," Elsa said with a tired and faked _huff_ of annoyance. "You were the first person I saved. And you were in the newspapers almost as much as I was after the Noble Tower incident. How could I not know that you're Anna Noble?"

After hearing these words, Anna visibly blushed and gave a goofy smile which Elsa could see not only sprang forth externally, but reached every fibre of her being. Suddenly the younger Noble held herself with a greater sense of confidence.

"If you want to know why I'm here, it's because my cousin rushed to help," Anna explained before Elsa could even broach the question. "And I wanted to make sure she was alright."

This justification caught Elsa off-guard, although she had to do her best not to react in any visible way. Again, from Anna's perspective the Snow Queen did not necessarily know that Rapunzel was related to her. It would be foolish to jump to a conclusion that Elsa knew of but her current identity did not if she were to continue hiding this part of her life from Anna. But it also made her wonder what had been happening to Rapunzel. After all, the brunette's developed abilities had been more or less forgotten about in light of Marshall's mutation and Elsa hadn't even heard from either of her closest family-members since the party. Was it possible that Rapunzel had found answers to her condition?

And, more importantly to Elsa's psyche, was Anna aware of Rapunzel's abilities?

"Then she needs to get out of here as well," Elsa finally answered after thinking this news over, placing her more personal questions in the figurative backseat for the time being. "I want you and her outside of that blockade, because there are things here you shouldn't see. Officer Bjorgman?"

If it were anymore possible, Anna's face nearly split from the wide grin that erupted when Elsa spoke into her earpiece. Internally, Elsa kicked herself for giving Kristoff away. They had been warned by Rapunzel that Anna was on his trail and this would only give her more reasons to stalk the blond.

"'_Officer Bjorgman'?" _Kristoff repeated in a more conversational tone, indicating that he wasn't as hounded by other cops as before. "_How formal are we going?"_

"Anna Noble is with me, and her cousin is with Marshmallow," Elsa reported in as neutral a tone as possible, all the while thinking through the best path. It would be practically impossible to make Anna leave without someone to care for, and Elsa was powerless to force her to go otherwise. "Are you able to meet me next to 18th and Marina Avenue, and get them out of here?"

"_If I raise an alarm, I could. A few other officers would probably go in as well, but I could probably get away from them with Sven," _Kristoff thought out aloud. "_But if you're near Olaf's then that will mean taking Anna with you across a warzone. Are you sure you want to do that?"_

"I'll have to cross Marshmallow's path to find the cousin, and I'd rather have her with me," Elsa defended, her own attachment to Anna clouding her judgements. "If I do it right, there won't be much exposure."

There was a pause on the other end before Kristoff replied.

"_Alright, I can be there in five minutes,"_ He estimated, with the sounds of a gun being loaded audible behind him. "_But watch out. There's a swat team not that far away from you. They already think you're responsible for Marshmallow. If they see you with Anna, they're just going to thing you've abducted her and, believe me, they will not think twice about firing on you."_

"Wouldn't this to be too easy now, would I?" Elsa deadpanned, while doing her best to give Anna a reassuring glance. For the most part, Anna had shown an unwavering faith in her abilities, and that made Elsa feel all the more determined to get her to safety. Not wanting to waste any more time, Elsa waved a hand to call Anna after her. "Come on. We're going to get your friend."

This was easier said than done, as Elsa's initial adrenaline buzz wore off as they starting dodging down the alley at a double pace. Without the extra kick or immediate danger to respond to, she was just as tired as before. And unfortunately, Anna seemed to realise that. It wasn't addressed until after they had crossed a side street into the next alley, from where the cries of Marshmallow could be heard more clearly as there was only one row of building between them. At this point, Elsa began staggering as if in physical pain. Indeed, she felt like she had hit a wall she couldn't break through because there was simply no energy left in her body. The only thing keeping her going was Anna's immediate presence.

But without saying anything, Anna took the lead in their race to find Rapunzel and grabbed Elsa's hand to pull her on through the shady pathways.

"C'mon!" Anna cried as encouragement, even if she didn't understand what was wrong with the Snow Queen. "We're almost there! I think I can hear Rapunzel!"

"Halt!" A new, harder voice yelled into the relative calm of the cramped allies.

In one direction, Elsa could see the open road which was currently serving as the battleground for whatever confrontation the White Knight and Rapunzel were having with Marshmallow. If she squinted at the corners of the walls, she could make out the frankly intimidating mass of animalistic snowman which was stomping its way further down the street. Indeed, a rather loud, metallic bang echoed towards them to signify just how close they were. Elsa almost found herself willing to run in and rescue her cousin.

But instead, she had to swivel on the spot to come face to face with an angry, disbelieving brute in a visored helmet labelled with the word 'Swat'. Four more men stood behind him, their guns levelled on the pair. More on Elsa than Anna, in reality. Obviously Kristoff's instruction to avoid the half-way point between the police and the army had fallen on deaf ears.

"I order you to stand down and release your hostage!" The leader bellowed, a pistol held out at arm's length and targeted directly on Elsa's forehead.

"I'm not her hostage!" Anna defended, trying to stand between the Snow Queen and the Swat team. However, Elsa gently placed one hand against Anna's sleeve to pathetically push her back. "She's trying to help!"

"Miss, this woman has been lying to you," The officer insisted, eyes darting from the blonde to the redhead. "Please step away from her and come with me. This is not a safe place for civilians."

As ever, Anna's faith in the Snow Queen was unshakeable, even to the point of dangerous stupidity. This time, Anna forced her way in front of Elsa to shield her; a move which only made the Swat team readier to fire as their safeties audibly clicked off. Elsa did not like how this situation was playing out. She should have just forced Anna back over the dumpsters.

"Vigilante! Snow Queen, whatever you are!" The officer continued, ignoring the obvious threat to an innocent person. "Let the girl go and tell your… Snow thing to stand down! Or I will be forced to fire! You have to the count of three! One!"

Elsa tried to drag Anna out of the line of fire, but her sister was resistant to her meagre efforts.

"Two!"

A choking feeling gradually spread through Elsa's throat, very unlike any symptom of anxiety she had felt previously. Anna still would not stand back, even though she would be the one who paid for this defiance more than anything. Even the other members of the Swat team were growing nervous by this quick escalation of severe action. Although Elsa didn't notice that their eyes were no longer on her or Anna.

"Three!"

The choking feeling suddenly became clear as a piece of reality, with Elsa being drawn backwards by the scruff of her neck in one strong motion. She tumbled to the side, and into a pile of garbage bags, while a white-and-gold caped figure surged past her. The same figure unceremoniously brushed Anna down in the opposite direction to stand before the Swat leader in all his terrifying glory.

"Is there a problem, officer?" The White Knight courteously said in his much deeper, scrambled voice.

The leader gave a shriek, and fired on the Knight as an instant reaction. Such a blast should have taken the Knight off his feet, or at the very least make him stumble backwards. But he remained steady, looking down on the shorter man with an indecipherable gaze but a pose which emanated annoyance. If he was wearing anything like Elsa, she supposed he must have one very deep bruise forming.

"Ow." The Knight said without a glimmer of emotion.

Then he struck with his left hand; grabbing the leader's forearm and yanking back with tremendous force. There was a sickening _crack_ as the bone snapped, leaving the officer with one arm sticking out at a horrific angle. He barely had time to scream before the Knight punched under the visor to send him sprawling unconscious.

The trajectory of the leader caused him to fall against three of his supporting officers, resulting in a pile of shocked men who scrambled to regain control. In the interim, the Knight had swiped the pistol from his first target, before drawing his sword in the opposing hand and flipping it over so that the blade was held in his glove. Turning on the fifth member of the team, he fired once into the gap in the armour at the base of the officer's thigh and then used the handle of the sword as a club, which he swung into the forehead of the man's helmet as he crumpled to the floor. If he hadn't passed out from the pain, he most certainly passed out from the impact his lower jaw from the ground.

The next target, or targets, for the Knight were the three remaining Swat officers, who were begin to take aim on the ghostly adversary with unfitting weapons. As both Elsa and the Knight critiqued, they were trying to use machine gun rifles in the close quarters of the alley, which proved as a hindrance for them since the potential for a ricocheting bullet catching an unintended victim was high.

In response, the Knight shot the officer furthest to the right in his shoulder. The recoil from the impact, although it didn't actually penetrate the armour, caused the officer to lose balance just as his finger pulled back on the trigger. This caused him to unleash a cascade of bullets not parallel to the walls of the alley, but in a sweeping motion which took down his comrades.

Instinctively, Elsa shielded her head with her sleeves as bullets bounced around the tight space. It wasn't until the pattering of bullets meeting concrete had stopped that she realised Anna had been without any cover. With a sharp cry, Elsa twisted on the trash pile to find her sister in the mayhem. And she was surprised to find that Anna was completely fine. Rather than having been hit by a bouncing bullet, her sister was crouched down and looking directly into the faceplate of the White Knight with an expression of sickened awe.

Despite everything Elsa had come to believe about the White Knight, it had appeared that the enemy's first instinct had been to shield Anna from harm with his own body. The cape fluttered in the channelled breeze, bullet-holes marring its beauty, and there were dark smudges on the wipe suit where the lead had glanced off the material. For some reason, the White Knight had saved Anna. And Elsa was apprehensively grateful to the murderer for such an act of compassion.

Without even addressing the fact he had just saved Anna's, the Knight wheeled around to hold the sword out at full length; its tip pointing towards the only officer who had so far escaped unscathed. The man stopped his fretting at the fact he had just shot his colleagues, transfixed by the blankness of the Knight's face and the shining of the sword.

"Run," The White Knight instructed lowly, before nodding at the four men who lay across the alley. "Get them an ambulance. Alternatively, you can stay and I can kill you all. Your choice."

The poor officer didn't need to be told twice. He dropped his gun and sprinted back the way he had come, leaving his teammates in a bleeding, broken, mostly unconscious heap. The Knight surveyed the scene, nodding in satisfaction to himself. Then, sensing not all was right, he span around and caught the incoming punch Anna had thrown at him.

"You're welcome," The White Knight casually commented, looking at Anna's whole fist being encapsulated by his palm and held in place as if it were the most intriguing sight in the world. "Did you thank the Snow Queen this way when she saved your life? It's a very mixed message."

"Shut up!" Anna spat, seething with rage at their saviour. She pulled her fist from his grasp and turned to aid Elsa to her feet, although she still directed her speech to the Knight. "You killed twenty cops last month. You're a monster."

"My dear Anna," The Knight replied, sending a shudder of disgust through both Elsa and Anna as he said her name. "I killed _twenty-three men _in all that night. And I killed eighty-four other people before then as well. But I haven't killed anyone tonight, so please refrain from trying to hit me."

Anna abstained from indulging the Knight with an answer, preferring to instead turn to the Snow Queen for guidance. Although Elsa couldn't help but feel that the White Knight was also watching her intently, even his faceplate was not directly pointing at her. His eyes could be looking anywhere behind those reflective lenses. But at least he was not attacking either of them, like Elsa had come to believe. It was a bizarre occurrence that she was in the presence of so obviously evil a foe and she was not doing anything to stop him. Not that she could, in her condition.

"What about Marshall Hansen?" Elsa lowly asked, ignoring every part of her consciousness which told her not to stare directly at the Knight's face. "You seem pretty intent on murdering him."

The Knight's head turned like he'd just heard a portion of idle gossip rather than an accusation, his body language not changing in the slightest. Whatever his moral position was, he was completely confident that he was correct in his conduct. A confidence Elsa actually found herself envious of, though she daren't admit it.

"Come now, your majesty," The Knight said with the full etiquette of addressing a royal. "I am a man who can admit my mistakes. I was interested to see what would happen to Lieutenant Hansen and this has gone much further than I intended. And I am a firm believer in finishing what I have started, so I would greatly appreciate it if you stayed out of this particular fight."

"I can't let you do that." Elsa asserted, thinking of the turmoil Olaf must be experiencing as he watched his brother devolve into a child's nightmare.

The Knight chuckled merrily to himself, turning on the spot and marching off down the alley. It was clear he did not want the Noble sisters to follow him.

"Unlike the police officer, you don't have a choice," He called out behind him. "If you interfere, you'll just make Marshmallow stronger. And that will make things worse for everyone. Get in my way, and I'll have to deal with you," The Knight paused at the far corner of the alley, looking back for just a moment. "And I really don't want to do that, _yet_."

Then he was gone, leaving Elsa and Anna to look out over the continuing confrontation in the wide street just beyond the enclosed walls. In the intervening minutes of dealing with the cause of this disaster Marshmallow hadn't progressed much further, and Elsa could see why. Craning her neck around the edge of the wall, Elsa could spot a purple figure with golden blonde hair literally running circles around the lumbering snow-giant. This was to coil a length of cable around Marshmallow's lower legs in an attempt to knock him to the ground. And while this did impede his progress, it did not stop Marshmallow, since his skin was permeable and the cable slowly phased through the snow. Like everyone else, Rapunzel had only come up with a temporary solution to the problem.

Satisfied in having spotted one of her concerns, Elsa then scanned the scene for Olaf. He also wasn't hard to spot, since he was standing only a few feet further down from Rapunzel. Although she naturally couldn't hear what he was shouting, Elsa could have sworn Olaf was attempting to calm his brother down. Again, this only gathered limited results, since Marshmallow was too busy trying to swipe at Rapunzel.

"Did you say _that's _Marshall Hansen?" Anna asked in horrified astonishment, taking in the enormous frame of a man she had met only the day before. "What happened to him? I mean, he was acting strange when I met him, but I didn't expect him to snow-Hulk out."

Before Elsa could respond, a thankfully welcomed voice called out her sister's name. Glancing behind her, she saw Kristoff sprinting towards them, one hand on his holstered gun lest he spot the menace that had just left.

"I _knew_ you knew the Snow Queen!" Anna congratulated herself, fist bumping the air in unfitting celebration.

"Very good," Kristoff sarcastically congratulated before grabbing her hand. "I've had to 'accidentally' get separated from my unit to find you, so let's get out of here before they send even more officers in."

"Wait," Anna resisted, grabbling to find the Snow Queen's hand, although her idol refused to anchor as while Kristoff dragged her in the opposite direction. "What about Rapunzel? She's out there."

"She has powers now, doesn't she?" Elsa quickly asked, causing Kristoff to pause in his evacuation of the scene. "What are they?"

Anna hesitated to answer, partially surprised that the Snow Queen was not fully aware of what she had done to her cousin.

"Well, she can, erm… Heal, like really fast," Anna reported, feeling like this was a private matter for Rapunzel. "Like, she gets cut and a few seconds later the cut's not there anymore."

Elsa searched for Kristoff's eyes, silently debating with him whether to utilise this ability or not. To the outside observer like Anna, there were just two set of blank stares watching each other. But Elsa could see Kristoff think this development over and imperceptibly nod.

"I'm going to need help out there," Elsa eventually consented, although how Rapunzel might be able to help her do the unthinkable was still a mystery to her. "But, Officer Bjorgman, Olaf Hansen is out there as well. Go up a block and get him out of here. Make sure neither him nor Anna Noble follow me again."

Her voice was forceful enough that Anna didn't even argue this time. The redhead simply let herself be led off through the clearer backstreets, now with the full intention of saving someone and knowing that the Snow Queen would watch out for her cousin. Elsa still watched her as Kristoff took her away just to make sure she wasn't going to return quite so quickly, before mentally preparing herself for this confrontation.

There probably wasn't much she could do anymore. Marshall was definitely too far gone now to be saved and she was too weak to effect the situation. Part of her thought leaving Marshmallow to the fate the White Knight had in store for him would be the sensible thing to do, but she knew that this certain doom for Marshall would only hurt Olaf more than if she did it herself. How she would kill Marshmallow was a completely different question. Still, despite the insurmountable odds, there must be something that could be done to stop Marshmallow. The White Knight's plan to blow the snowman up had undeniably failed, so what could be done to halt Marshmallow and was already at Riverside?

Knowing there was only one why to find out, Elsa stretched her aching limbs to prepare herself for acrobatic feats of martial arts she simply couldn't do this time and pounced into the open street to face Marshmallow.

Her approach was significantly easier now that her foe was distracted and she did not have Anna to worry about. Indeed, it was merely a matter of taking cover behind the line of cars marshmallow had shunted out of his way and darting down the sidewalk until she could here Olaf's pleading more clearly. He was busy trying to remind Marshall of who he was, but Marshmallow did not care to listen, instead putting all his energy into lunging for the girl-in-purple who continued to weave her way around him. This made it all the simpler for Elsa to dash straight to her friend, who hadn't even noticed her approach.

"Olaf," She whispered urgently once she was in earshot. "You have to go. You shouldn't be here."

Olaf jumped when he heard his name, his eyes fixing on Elsa's hunched, tired figure with an expression of pure weakness. He was pleading her not to try with everything he had. And it pained Elsa's heart that she had to do this. She had to try.

"No, he's still in there," Olaf attempted to persuade; backing away from Elsa's outstretched hand. "He recognised me before. Marshall's still alive."

Even if that was true, a point which Elsa did not allow herself to believe, there was no way Marshall could ever live a happy life after this. The police, the army, probably even the CIA would never stop hunting for him. He would be bound to the Arctic Circle, if he could get that far. Otherwise, all that awaited Marshall was pain, torture and isolation. Every paranoid nightmare of what Elsa thought would happen to her if her secret ever got out was coming true for Marshall. And she would not allow him to go through that even if she had never truly liked him.

"Olaf, please, find some cover." Elsa insisted, continuing her advance in perfect time to Olaf's retreat.

"No," A tear slid from the corner of Olaf's eye, his voice wavering between stoic control and acceptance. "He can be saved."

A movement behind Olaf caught Elsa's attention, causing her to break the eye-contact to investigate what was happening. To her muted joy, Kristoff had found a way in through the back of a shop and managed to sneak through to the front in perfect time to catch hold of Olaf. There was only a few feet between them now. If Elsa forced back just a little further, Kristoff and Anna would be able to drag Olaf away from something he didn't need to see.

"I'm sorry," Elsa genuinely said, knowing the kind of delusions Olaf was experiencing in the face of such a loss. "But, one way or another, Marshall is dead. And he wouldn't want you to torment yourself. So, please, let me fix this as best as I can."

It was at that moment Kristoff swung forwards and grabbed Olaf's upper arm, then roughly pulled him back. Olaf, figuring out what was happening, gave a kick and a yell, begging Kristoff to let him go. He pulled back with all his might, producing a tug of war which both were desperate to win. The only difference was that Olaf was more vocal about the disagreement, and his voice cause a miraculous turn of events.

"Let go of me!" Olaf continued yelling. "Marshall!"

For reasons she could not begin to understand, Elsa turned around to watch Marshmallow and was amazed to see that the lumbering snow-giant actually responded to Olaf's call. He gave another animalistic screech, and then began moving with more purpose. With a speed no one knew he was capable, he finally managed to smack a giant palm on top of Rapunzel's ever running form, flattening her to the ground. Lifting her like she was a rag doll, Marshmallow flung her away; sending her flying straight into a shop front on the opposite street and shattering it.

"Rapunzel!" Anna yelled in horror, fear-stricken when she did not see her cousin recover straight away.

Elsa would have sprinted to Rapunzel's side, if it were not for the approach of Marshmallow at a more determined pace than he had exhibited previously. The strange gallop he performed could almost be seen as running, as he neared with such swiftness that Elsa was compelled to defend Kristoff and Anna.

Unfortunately, she was powerless to affect any great defence as she was given the same treatment as Rapunzel; in that Marshmallow picked her up as if she weighed nothing and lifted her a clear six feet off the ground. Her momentary fears of being drained further were quickly diminished when Marshmallow discarded her with a similar disinterest in the path to his brother.

She tumbled through the air into a luckily placed convertible car, which, while still bruising to fall into, did not deal her as much damage as Rapunzel had probably gathered.

* * *

Rapunzel gasped in pain as she attempted to sit up amongst the shattered glass and knocked over displays. Her short flight, not to mention her harsh landing, had almost certainly broken a few bones, although which she couldn't exactly specify. Her left shoulder stung and itched in the way her back had after it was cut repeatedly by her mugger the day before. Hopefully whatever joints had been shattered were already stitching themselves back together again. Each breath, however, was like being stabbed in the stomach as there were a number of broken ribs which were yet to be tended to. And she couldn't move her right leg at all.

But the cherry on top of this deluge of aches was the reappearance of the familiar feeling of sickness which resulted from her lead poisoning. She had started to feel an episode come on towards the end of her attempt to tangle Marshall to the ground, but it had fully surfaced in accompaniment with her new collection of injuries. Part of her wished Pabbie had just pulled the bullet out earlier that day. In fact, she was fairly certain anyone could do it. It sounded like a simple enough procedure.

With her one good hand and leg, Rapunzel crawled back over to the broken window as quickly as she could in order to reassess the situation. Marshall was on the opposite side of the street, his back facing her as he looked down at a small group of people Rapunzel recognised. Olaf, of course, was there as per her agreement to aid him. But now she could also spot the familiar twin braids of Anna behind him, trying to pull him through the open door of the shop with Kristoff. She supposed it was their arrival which had changed Marshall's direction. Theirs, and one other person.

Searching through the line of cars, Rapunzel managed to find Elsa lying in a nearby car which she was having difficulty escaping from. Having experienced many injuries in the last few weeks, Rapunzel could immediately tell than Elsa had no severe injuries, yet she seemed exhausted and her grip on the car seemed too feeble to pull herself out with.

As for the White Knight, he was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps, she thought, he had run off in order to save his own skin. A number of harsh names flew to her mind in light of this assumption.

Soon enough, her left arm felt strong enough to move again, although the lead poisoning still persisted in her system and made her vision begin to blur. It seemed her increased healing factor was incapable of processing more than one injury at a time, as she felt her ribs slowly move back into place and free her to breathe deeply again. This was the first time she criticised her powers for taking too long, although she theorised the oil in her veins was spread too thinly while it had to stop internal bleeding and poisoning at the same time. Was there a limit to how much she could handle? In theory, the lead in her bloodstream could build up to the point where she would die anyway, especially while the bullet was still in her system.

There was, it seemed, only one conclusion. She had to heal fast enough to help Elsa and save the small group under Marshall's shadow. And there was just one small pellet in her way. Her summation of the surgery was correct; with her abilities anyone could perform it.

Compressing the part of her stomach which screamed with the sickening agony of the lead, Rapunzel felt for the largest, sharpest shard of glass she could find. The blind search produced many cuts before she located an appropriately sized sliver which stabbed into her palm when she picked it up. With her other hand, she undid the front of her purple suit to the waist and untucked the shirt she wore underneath so that the rough area where the bullet was buried was revealed.

Rapunzel strained her eyes attempting to focus on the patch of stomach she intended to operate on, and gritted her teeth when the jagged point of the glass pierced her skin. She had to swallow her own screams as she drag the shard downwards for an estimate length of ten centimetres before she could drop the painful scalpel.

Then came the most disgusting thing Rapunzel had ever had to do. With shaking, blood-slickened fingers she gently searched for the small pellet, with only her sickness to guide her. It was slimy and horribly warm, but all she had to find was locate the first completely hard surface she encountered before she passed out.

Although she knew she shouldn't distract herself from such an important task, Rapunzel glared up when she heard a parade of boots stomp into the road. The Swat team of six halted just a couple of hundred yards away from her and she watched them carefully take aim. A glance to the convertible showed her that Elsa had already spotted this, and her mind too was on the three people she cared about who would also be in the line of fire. One of them had to do something about this, and soon.

Thankfully, Rapunzel's fingers slipped on something suspiciously bullet-shaped not a moment. With a renewed effort, she clawed at the small bane of her existence until it was secured between the tips of her index and middle fingers. Then, not wanting to a spend a moment longer on this repulsive task, Rapunzel withdrew her hand and sighed in relief as she felt the sensation of poisoning disappear from her system for the last time.

It seemed also that her healing factor increased threefold, as she suddenly felt her leg snap directly back into place while the myriad of cuts that had been inflicted on her sealed in one go. In under two minutes she was unscarred and healthy as the day she was born. And she had never felt better.

But rather than enjoy this freedom from sickness and pain, Rapunzel was forced back into the present when she heard the first few rounds of gunfire.

* * *

"No!" Elsa hollered as she saw the bullets rain on Marshmallow. From what she had seen in the last twenty-four hours, she knew that guns could not harm the snowman. They would simply pass through him. Instead, she was much more concerned for Anna's safety.

The Swat team emptied their rounds into the hulking mass of snow, unhindered since the Snow Queen was powerless to create a barricade around their target. Marshmallow didn't cry in pain nor did he react in rage. It was questionable whether he even noticed as the first few lumps of metal embedded themselves in his icy skin. But his behaviour was different to how Elsa had seen him move the day before. Of course, this barely registered as she ran to find Anna.

She should have sent her sister away by force. Anna was more important to her than the entire city and she should never forget that.

After a few seconds of pathetic _fwips_, which was the only result of the bullets raining down of the permeable adversary, Marshmallow finally realised what was happening. And rather than attack his aggressors in vengeful rage, he instead turned to his other side to look down on the people whom Elsa knew were there. His mannerisms were much more intelligent than she had seen previously and she was shocked to see him reach down with both mighty hands. Elsa's fears got the better of her when she saw them enclose on the small group hiding behind the giant.

A sudden yell alerted to another event grabbing the Swat team's attention, although Elsa did not turn around to inspect the commotion. If she had, she would have been thankful for the rescue that was coming.

From a shop-window further down the street, a pale-faced purple blur rushed out into the battle. Each officer spotted her approach from this direction one-by-one and each made the snap decision to label her as an enemy also. It was for this reason that they turned their weapons on her instead, although the spray of bullets proved equally ineffective. Most of them glanced off her violet costume, while the few that pierced the bare skin on her hands made no lasting damage. Indeed, the wounds healed before the projectiles had even lost contact with her.

Rapunzel made a beeline for the group, knowing that the risk they posed to the civilians was far greater than the damage they dealt to Marshmallow. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but found she could only have faith in her abilities. Flynn had told her it was the mark of heroism to act for the best on what limited information was available. So the only natural thing she could do when she reached the closest members of the Swat team was grab their guns and pull them out of their hands. This only worked on four of the officers, before they began using their own brute force to hold her back from the remaining six members.

Her foes were surprised, however, that their efforts fell short of being any actual hindrance to the short, slender girl who must have been have their individuals weights, if not less. Rapunzel was equally as unsure as to how many men she could take on at once. Certainly she had the physical capacity, but not the mental one. After all, she had never received any formal training, unlike Elsa and the White Knight. All Rapunzel had was genetic enhancements and gymnastic flexibility to draw on.

So she pulled her arms from their grasp and made sure to throw them off their feet. In the end; they weren't even much of a match for her. Rapunzel relaxed her legs to pull a man on her left over her head as he stumbled under the sudden dead weight she became. This brought him bowling into his comrade on her opposing side to leave them both earthbound while she pounced upwards and vaulted over the squad commander's shoulders. Landing expertly, Rapunzel dropped low and swept the commander's legs from under him before tackling the fourth man into the ground with a twist of her hip.

Whilst Rapunzel did this, Elsa continued to watch with confused horror and surprise as Marshmallow lifted the small group from their shelter like they weighed absolutely nothing. It seemed to be a motion of design through which the mutated man cupped his palms in a sizable ball around them, his ice thickened appendages stopping the stray bullets which might have killed them. With a strained grunt, Marshmallow straightened his back and stretched his arms high up the building beside him. Elsa's sigh of relief was audible when she saw Kristoff, Olaf and, most importantly, Anna clamber onto a fire escape three-floors above ground level.

"Don't. Come. Back!"

Everyone in the street stopped moving. No one fully comprehended what had just happened for a few moments. Every single soul on that road, both fully informed and clueless as to Marshmallow's nature, was caught off-guard by this undeniable display of sentience from the monster. Marshmallow merely stared upwards, at two people he vaguely knew and one he definitely did, but speaking in that rasping, effort-laden howl again.

"Go. Olaf. Go!"

It was only with Anna's urging that Olaf did eventually turn his back on his brother and break into the building via the nearest shattered window. Marshall stood there, watching, for a few moments more before being brought back into the moment when a new chorus of bullets blasted from a different location.

In the interim of his listeners digesting the act of kindness and humanity the frosty giant had shown, a second Swat team had charged into the fray and opened fire without having seen this intelligent display. Rapunzel, thankfully, had managed to disarm the remaining six officers who put up less of a fight, although was too far away to affect any change in the situation before Marshall did.

Having realised what he was and coming to a conclusion on how this would end, Marshall picked up the nearest car and held it aloft before stomping closer to the new threat. This motion brought him within arm's length of Elsa's hiding place, a fact the snowman must have known given that his eyes were one her the entire time. Then they swivelled to the source of the gunblasts, which did not cease with his enraged proximity.

"Run!" Marshall bellowed as a warning before he flung the car in their direction.

They scattered before any harm could come to them, ending the hail of metal and giving Marshall the window he needed. With one masterful swoop his enormous arms he picked up the weak form of Elsa and carried her off in the direction of the river. She had no idea what was going to happen now, with the added concern of being unable to enact any escape. Elsa was exhausted, powerless and at the mercy of the fractured creature that she had respected for his commitment to his chosen cause. She could only fear for the worst.

"Hey! Wait up!" The sound of Rapunzel's voice gave Elsa new hope, although she still lacked complete faith in her cousin's abilities. Despite everything that had been dealt to Rapunzel and whatever strange powers had been bestowed on her, Elsa couldn't help but feel that the seventeen-year-old was not entirely suited to this. But, then again, she doubted anyone could be fully prepared for this kind of work.

Leaping over wreckage and dodging debris, Rapunzel managed to keep pace with Marshall's longer strides with an aim to make sure the platinum blonde was safe. The bruises that were pounded into her skin by the close-quarter gunfire healed up quickly, perhaps even faster now that the offending original bullet was purged from her system. If she could shake off damage at this rate, she wondered to what extent she could transfer her abilities. Pabbie had said the strength of the serum would be very diluted and probably wouldn't make a dent in Marshall's changed body structure.

* * *

"Come on, Olaf," Kristoff ordered, attempting to drag his much shorter compatriot back in the direction of the Mountains. Under any other circumstance he might have moved the small group that had formed around him to the subway or even to the safety of the Ice Palace. At the very least, he wanted to find refuge at Olaf's apartment since the Snow Queen's base of operations was practically off limits due to the presence of a certain young woman. "It's not safe here, we have to go."

Not entirely aware of the gravity of the situation but still willing to follow Kristoff's lead, Anna had grabbed Olaf's other arm and tried to aid the blond's efforts. He would assume Anna would have figured out Marshmallow's identity from the interaction the giant had had with Olaf, although she hadn't said anything to indicate this knowledge yet. Of course, she was probably distracted by the fact that her sister, although she didn't know it, had been swept away by Marshall with her cousin chasing after them. It was a wonder Anna had not rushed off after them herself.

"No! I have to help him!" Olaf insisted, struggling against their combined hold in a continued effort to rescue his brother. "You know what she'll do to him!"

"Listen, buddy, I don't really see how the Snow Queen can manage it," Kristoff argued, paying extra-attention to not slipping and referring to Elsa by name. "She barely put up a fight against the police, how is she going to have enough strength to destroy that thing?"

"'That thing' is my brother!" Olaf screamed, shoving against Anna in the hopes she might be more easily unbalanced and lose her grip. Unfortunately, Anna was surprisingly stronger than she looked. "You don't understand what I'm losing! Get out of my way!"

Despite keeping his cool through all the other tough decisions he had been faced with in the last few months, something inside Kristoff snapped as the words left Olaf's lips. At first, he wasn't aware of what he was doing, but in one harsh tug he managed to pull Olaf out of Anna's clutch and fling him against a dumpster using his greater weight. It wasn't a particularly strong blow, nor did it injure Olaf in any way, but it gave the shorter man enough of a jolt to pay attention to the red-faced, near-seething officer who grabbed his shoulder again and yanked him to his feet.

"This is tough, I get it!" Kristoff barked directly into Olaf's face, specks of spit escaping his loose control. "In the space of a day your brother has been turned into a mutant and you're not okay with it! But no one is okay with it! Did it never cross your mind that if there was something she could do she would have already done it?! I understand that you don't want to face the truth of what's going on, but the fact is you don't have the liberty of denial. Look around you! The authorities will never stop pursuing Marshall because of what he is and there is nothing you can do about it! So let what has to happen, happen."

With a final shove, Kristoff released Olaf from his deathly grip and let him fall onto the pavement in pale shock. From her spot behind them, Anna had never seen a man so angry. Although angry was maybe not the word she would have chosen. What she saw was not rage, but pain. Both of them felt a pain, the only difference was one was fresher than the other. And the worst part was she could almost comprehend what kind of grief was clutching Olaf as her fingers dipped into her coat pocket and found the creased photograph of the young Noble family. At least she'd had time to process her losses.

"I'm sorry," Kristoff quietly added, standing tall over Olaf but refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "But don't you _ever_ assume I don't have the slightest clue what this feels like."

For the first time since Anna had encountered him that day, Olaf seemed to properly see his surroundings. With every flick of his eyes and twitch of his ears the short man realised exactly what was happening. If she were honest with herself, Anna had also forgotten that this was a serious street battle. Not just an adventure of the Snow Queen's, but a proper fight with casualties and debris and ambulance sirens and gunfire. This was all that could be heard beyond the quiet, dirty alley they had hidden in after climbing down Marshall's escape route. And it took every ounce of awareness Anna had to not start crying at the thought of what had to happen. Only a few tears were shed for Olaf when she saw him physically and forcibly come to terms with the situation.

"Okay," He said shakily, carefully getting back to his feet. "You're right. She knows what she's doing. But I can't let him go through it alone."

Kristoff turned away from Olaf in a struggle to decide what to do. He couldn't deny that if he had another chance, he would not ignore the torture of those he had lost. However, at the same time he couldn't risk leaving either of his charges alone. Olaf, despite what he said, could not be trusted to stay on the side-lines of whatever happened between Elsa and Marshall. At the same time, it was unlikely Anna would go back to the safety of her apartment if Kristoff told her to; meaning he would have to quite literally carry her away from the carnage. Either way, one of them would be left disappointed.

Fortunately, Anna provided the answer which reduced his conflictions, even though it would go against his instructions from Elsa.

"Then let's go find him," Anna promised Olaf, automatically grabbing both of their hands to pull them back out into the street. "It can't be that hard to see a giant white blob, can it?"

Rather than argue anymore and thankful that they had at least agreed on a direction, Kristoff gripped Anna's hand harder as she led them down the now vacant road.

"Alright," He conceded, watching Anna's face pull itself into a pout which, on any other day, he might find adorable. "But we keep to cover. He did tell us to not come back, after all."

* * *

Whatever Marshall's intentions were, Elsa eventually convinced herself that he was not going to forcefully drain her of her powers again after a solid five minutes of uninterrupted travelling. When she gazed upwards at the swollen face she had once recognised, she only saw a conflicted determination which suggested she was not going to like what would happen. It was a relief, however, to see some intelligence illuminating those pitted, crystalline eyes and Elsa carefully put her trust in him.

For the most part, Elsa had no idea where they were meant to be going nor how safe it would be for Marshall to be there. She hadn't heard any further reports from Kristoff, and so had no idea whether any more Swat teams had been sent in. Obviously, she couldn't rely on the White Knight or Rapunzel to save their skins every time. Since his first, personal conversation with her there was no indication on where he had disappeared to. All she had to go on was his undeniable, if well restrained, determination to get rid of the snowman; presenting a second reason for her to fear for Marshall's safety.

There certainly wasn't a chance she would be able to face the Knight down should they meet again before the crisis was over. And as for Rapunzel, she may be able to heal at accelerated rates (as evidenced to Elsa by her quick recovery from crashing into the shop window) but it was unlikely she would have the necessary training to defeat the mystery villain. Indeed, based on Elsa's observations, there was possibly only one man she knew of who could take on such a formidable foe with a chance of survival. Unfortunately for them, Shang Li was on the other side of the planet and unreachable.

Nevertheless, Rapunzel kept pace with Marshall's sweeping strides in her own display of loyalty and duty. If Elsa were to twist herself so she could look down, through the gaps of the snowy arms which held her against the overly-broad chest, she could catch glimpses of the purple suit flashing with each step. For the first time since the Stabbington incident, Elsa was glad she had given Rapunzel these powers if it meant she didn't have to face whatever was coming alone. In a strange, existential sense of irony, perhaps this was closest Elsa would get to a perfect world.

After an indeterminable length of time and distance, Marshall's pace suddenly broke into a grinding halt which caught Elsa by surprise. With a gentle care, the giant released the Snow Queen from his tight grip and slowly placed her on the hood of a nearby car while he faced down whatever it was in his path. At once, Rapunzel was by her side and lifting her to her feet in a half-baked plan to get away. But Elsa was not so willing to turn and run as her cousin suggested, instead choosing to survey the situation before her as her eyes adjusted to the comparatively bright light of the setting sun.

Whether as part of a sentient intention or falling back on his new biological requirements, Marshall had brought them to the vast, glimmering expanse of the Arendelle river. Like everywhere else on this stretch of Riverside, the roads were devoid of public life in an eerie parody of a post-apocalyptic scene. This feeling of dreaded tension was only heightened by the silhouette of the caped costume on the banks of the river, his sword reflecting the dying sunlight with a menace which made Elsa's skin crawl.

"You. Did. This. To Me!" Marshall barked in his guttural, broken version of speech, his fingers twitching in his anger.

"So you are still in there," The White Knight calmly perceived, sounding thoroughly disinterested in the monumental development. "It's a shame, really. I'll have to go back to the drawing board."

With a roar of pure, unbridled rage Marshall lunged forwards. He was well-prepared to squeeze the life from the Knight's body, both physically and mentally, as well as being completely justified in committing murder, in Elsa's opinion. Sickeningly, part of her wished Marshall _would_ kill the White Knight to prevent him from doing any more damage to the city, as she knew he inevitably would. He may hide behind a warped sense of honour and reasoning, but there was no denial that the man was pure evil, down to his very soul.

But Marshall's anger took his focus away, allowing the much smaller Knight to duck under the outstretched arms to avoid the mortal harm. This movement did not escape Marshall, though, and the snowman wheeled around on the spot in order to follow the Knight. However, this shifting of momentum was used by the man in white to his advantage, as he shockingly pounced forwards again and drove the blade of his sword directly into Marshall's mid-thigh.

The strike didn't seem to compute with Marshall at first. He only noticed that something was amiss when he gradually lost the much needed anchor on his spin and his combined weight and momentum dragged him off-balance. As Elsa and Rapunzel watched on, the giant mass of Marshall was dragged by gravity to tumble directly into the deep water of the river.

At first, Elsa didn't quite understand the wisdom of this action. In all the tests of FRZ-52 she had witnessed growing up, access to large quantities of water always made the subject stronger. Surely, this was not the Knight's intention if he wanted to stop what he had created. However, the longer she watched, anticipating an even larger and angrier Marshmallow to emerge from the waters, the more she began to think there was a factor she hadn't anticipated before. So when Marshall finally burst from the powerful tide Elsa immediately stumbled forwards to inspect him, pulling Rapunzel with her.

What struck Elsa first, on closer observation, was the fact that Marshall was having extreme difficulties in pulling himself back to dry land. Anyone would have expected a being of his strength would be more than capable of hoisting his body over the ledge of the port before recommencing his fight. Further to this, Elsa had naturally assumed that his leg would have regenerated entirely in his brief swim, as well as increase his lifting power to even more extraordinary levels, making his struggle completely aberrant overall.

But as she neared the small arena, Elsa noticed what the Knight must have figured out earlier in the rampage. As quickly as Marshall's body grew, it fell apart again due to the basic instability snow had. This was evidenced enough as his shoulders began to sag and layers of ice formed, then instantaneously filtered off his back to drift away in the surging waters. Even his leg had difficulty in reforming as the materials were swept away before the structures could be consolidated. And, as shown by his prolonged gasping and groaning, it was an extremely painful process to be caught in.

Rapunzel, also, seemed to realise this despite the fact she had no understanding of how FRZ-52 worked. Elsa felt her cousin become tense with an uncharacteristic anger as she thought over these conclusions, before she suddenly dropped Elsa's arm from around her shoulder (having first made sure the natural blonde could support herself) and marched to stand just behind the White Knight, who had advanced on Marshall to finish the act of killing.

"You lied!" Rapunzel yelled, apparently having been misled into believing that the White Knight was impartial and kind-hearted to those he pretended to serve. "You said you'd get Marshall out via the river!"

Rather casually, the Knight paused and turned to face Rapunzel. "Yes I did. But we meant different things. Principally, I meant dear Marshall would be leaving in pieces. But I thank you for your assistance in bringing him here."

If Elsa had blinked at that moment, she would have missed the astonishing flash of Rapunzel rising her fist to strike the White Knight clean in the face. Such an act of violence or rage had never been displayed by the teenager, and she moved with such a ferocious speed that Elsa mentally noted that she should never engage her cousin in a fight, even if for training. Yet, perhaps testifying an even greater skill, the White Knight caught her fist in his glove and _held_ it there. It would have been a surprise to anyone who had witnessed the progression of Rapunzel's powers over the last few days, especially as the Knight did not show the slightest struggle in pausing this powerful strike in its path. Elsa had never seen anything quite like it, although a terrifying story she had heard when she eight-years-old sprang to mind and indicated something new about the White Knight.

Due to the intervening years, Elsa was unable to recall many of the specific details or characters of the story. The only clear lead this half-forgotten tale presented was a place. The Tung Shao Pass certainly rang like a familiar bell in her mind, but had to be quickly forgotten again.

This was primarily because of the minor victory pulled over the White Knight during his distraction. Having been occupied with taunting Rapunzel, the opportunity that had briefly arisen was swiftly taken advantage of as Marshall lunged over the bank of the river and swept along the edge of the pavement with an engorged back-hand strike. Thankfully, he had just the reach required to take the Knight clear off his feet and send him sailing through the air for a decent twenty metres before he crashed into the water himself. No one knew whether he would come back or not, but Elsa git the distinct feeling that, if her theory was correct, something so simple would not permanently put an end to the White Knight.

Rapunzel followed the Knight's impromptu journey with surprise, having expected to be caught in Marshall's path as well. She eyed the centre of the ripples caused by the foe's disappearance for a few seconds, then she brought herself around to trying to aid Marshall's escape from the river.

But, surprisingly, when she neared Marshall the snowman pushed her away with a gentlemanly nudge. He hung there, half onto the pavement with his waist still submerged in the storm-deepened river, and dragged himself no further. Instead, he found Elsa's eyes through his torment and stared straight into a her soul in desperation. His lips moved in an attempt to form speech, although the water led to a greater formation of ice which stiffened his jaw.

"Kill. Me." Marshall beseeched after an internal and physical struggle. "Please."

Elsa did not know how to respond to this request. It was true that her unwilling plan had been to find a way to destroy Marshmallow before he could bring destruction to the city, and the animal kingdom by extension, himself. Yet, deep in her heart, she never thought she would actually follow through with the act. Adgar and Idunn had always taught her that their duty was to protect life, through any means possible. Murder was not something Elsa could ever condone. Before, she had been able to half convince herself that finding a way to kill Marshmallow was necessary and blameless; to her, Marshall had died with the mutation, and his corpse posed a real threat to the people of Arendelle. But now it turned out Marshall was still alive. He was speaking, he was _saving _people. How could Elsa end an intelligent life?

This question was not just moral. The issue still existed that Elsa unable to access her powers, and right now it seemed like those powers were the only thing able to fulfil Marshall's wish. Without them, she considered herself a failure as a vigilante. She couldn't help someone in need without the storm she always wished would disappear.

"I- I can't," Elsa admitted, fingers shaking as the stress finally got to her core. "I'm sorry. Th-… There's nothing I can do. I'm so sorry."

"Please." Marshall repeated through gritted teeth, muscles beginning to spasm. "Quickly. It. Hurts."

Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa thought she saw Rapunzel look questioningly at her hand in quiet consideration. But the majority of her focus was on the mountainous weight of guilt she felt at facing all the people she had failed and could still fail. What was the point of any of her efforts? She couldn't save the city. She couldn't run her own company. She couldn't even keep Anna out of the Snow Queen's business. It was all a futile exercise that she couldn't end, especially while men like the White Knight existed. And if people like him had access to FRZ-52, then they could win without even really trying.

"Please!" Marshall roared, chunks of his remaining leg falling away piece by piece.

"I can't!" Elsa yelled back, falling to her knees. "I'm tired. I'm broken. I'm _scared_."

Abruptly, warm fingers fell on the back of Elsa's hand and the world suddenly looked a little brighter. That lovely, moderate temperature seemed to flow like a gentle stream up her arm and brought her senses back to life. Elsa could suddenly feel the breeze again, and her shoulders became less slumped. The ache in her back and forearms and neck dissipated like it was never there, and when the gentle heat reached her eyes, the discomfort of the strain vanished to reveal a definition to the situation that Elsa had somehow missed. Bit by bit, Elsa returned to full strength. And for one shining moment, she was an ordinary person.

Then the blizzard reignited in her chest; feeling stronger this time, yet more controlled. Elsa hadn't realised how much she had missed it, despite her continued hatred of the curse. She couldn't decide whether she was happy to see frost begin to coat the ground beneath her feet or not.

When she eventually felt exactly like her old self again, Elsa finally inspected the source of this miracle. In the end, she had begun to suspect just who was responsible, yet she was still startled to see that Rapunzel had come to her aid once again. It had never even crossed her mind that her cousin's powers may be transferable and the entire scenario now appeared to be of intelligent design.

As if on demand, the ability was there. The only question was will.

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked, never looking away from Rapunzel's eyes. "Do you think you can be an accomplice to killing?"

"Elsa," Rapunzel quietly answered, although it didn't really matter now that Marshall might find out who the Snow Queen is. "It's not killing. It's compassion."

And she was right. It wasn't a matter of murdering another person, nor partaking in a mercy killing. This was simple compassion at the harshest of times.

Standing with a greater steadiness than she had exhibited throughout the day, Elsa strode over to Marshall so that there was only an arm's length between them. Rapunzel followed diligently, holding the Snow Queen's hand so that she was constantly fuelled and watched on sadly as Elsa met the snowman's pained gaze.

"Are _you_ sure?" Elsa had to ask one more time, to absolve herself of the guilt she would inevitably weigh on herself later and make certain that this was what Marshall wanted.

"Yes." He gasped, slumping slightly in acceptance of his fate and closing his eyes for what would be the last time. "Thank. You."

"I wish I could have done more for you." Elsa admitted, before she raised her hand.

For the first time that day, a stream of ice burst forth from the centre of Elsa's palm to burrow itself directly below Marshall's neck. The giant screamed in pain for a second, then he gritted his teeth and bore the brunt as the process of disintegration accelerated. Beneath him, his leg and most of his waist finally crumbled away in their entirety. Cracks began to spread from Marshall's chest, creating a web reminiscent of a dry desert while the ice which capped his joints became opaque and neared shattering.

All the way through, Elsa watched the snowman's face move from pain, to torment and eventually to peace. After everything that had happened to him, and despite the turn the past five minutes had taken, Marshall had his dignity returned to him. For him, it would all soon be over.

"No!" A familiar and frighteningly distraught voice screamed from a few tens of feet down the river.

Both Elsa and Marshall's concentration broke, as they each jumped around the last person they wanted to see at this moment for different reasons. There, against everything they had instructed, Olaf raced down the banks with his face white as snow and an expression which was indecipherable yet could be recognised as hurt beyond all else. They remained still as Olaf put himself between them.

"What are you doing? Please, don't." Olaf pleaded, his breathing erratic. "Where's the Knight? He said we could get Marshall out via the river."

"In. Pieces." Marshall corrected, his voice calmer now. "Knight. Lied. To You. Tried. To Kill. Me."

Olaf turned to face his brother in dismay. Apparently, like Rapunzel, he had been drawn in by the White Knight's false promises and the last of whatever hope he had harboured fell apart in his soul. Elsa didn't know what her friend would do now. He might recommence his efforts in persuading Elsa to let Marshall live, or he could become violent and try to fight her.

"Why are you letting her do this?" Olaf half-whispered.

"No. Peace. For Me." Marshall answered, eyes dulled but not devoid of life yet. "No. Life. Not. Happy. I'm Sorry."

For perhaps the first time in this entire tragedy, Olaf fully saw Marshall's condition. He had never considered that Marshall might not want to live after all he had been through. There had only been determination to save his family, because that is what he saw Elsa do all the time. And, at long last, he had accepted that saving Marshall entailed doing what Olaf had tried to avoid the entire time.

Olaf glanced to his left, seeking affirmation from a pair of people Elsa had not spotted before. She wasn't entirely shocked to see Kristoff standing there, dutifully waiting should he be required. But when she saw Anna hanging off Kristoff's arm, seemingly unable to bring herself to watch the scene unfold, Elsa's resolution faltered.

But then she was caught in Olaf stepping aside, nodding at her to resume what he had interrupted. With no choice now, Elsa recommenced the beam of ice much more forcefully than before to make it less painful for everyone present. Nearly everyone who had welcomed Marshall to Arendelle watched on as his torso split and crumbled into the water, then his left arm, then his right which reached for Olaf's hand.

At last, his face disappeared into a mass of snow which quietly slipped into the racing water, and was carried away from the stage of such heartbreak. Elsa released Rapunzel's hand from her grip, turning to find the natural brunette lunging over to engulf Olaf in a much needed hug of condolence. It seemed the bereaved brother was out of tears to shed, but despaired nonetheless as he could finally begin mourning properly. Looking over to the silent couple, Elsa saw Anna similarly hiding her face in Kristoff's shoulder while the cop held her close, trapped between wanting to be there and feeling awkward at the friendly intimacy. His face grim, Kristoff nodded to let Elsa know she had done the right thing.

But in spite of all the assurance she had been given, Elsa couldn't help but bow her head in shame.

* * *

Following a hasty escape from the river before the cops swarmed in, Elsa, Rapunzel and Olaf sat in the Ice Palace in complete silence. Unlike this morning, there was no tension or anger or unanswered questions to address. All they had to do was process the evening in their own ways, and accept what had happened individually.

For Olaf, he had the struggle of coming to terms with his loss while also hiding the news from his parents for the foreseeable future. There was no logical way to explain Marshall's soon to be noted disappearance to his mother and father without revealing his unofficial night-job, so for now the death of their had to be kept secret. No one had yet broached the topic in respect for Olaf. He at least knew that he had a loyal group of friends who would be behind him when the time was right.

In Rapunzel's case; she was left a big, unanswered question about who she was now. There was Rapunzel Engel, the shy girl from Corona, and now Rapunzel Engel, a superhero. Although she questioned the title of 'superhero' deeply. She held no regrets for her choice to aid Marshall's death, but she felt she could have done more to save him the pain of what the White Knight had planned. She was certainly inept enough to have believed the man she now knew had engineered her kidnapping a month ago. The only conclusion she could come to was that she was neither version of Rapunzel Engel. One way or another, she had a lot to learn. And she didn't know who to turn to.

As for Elsa, she was merely doing what she always did. Trying to reconcile her actions with the morality and high-level of control she normally strived for. Her powers had now returned in full-force, maybe even stronger than they had been two days ago. In the months she had been the Snow Queen, she had noticed how the storm within her veins was becoming more unruly, more powerful. How much longer could she keep the aspects of herself separate? Could she live with what she had done? Regardless of the justification Marshall had lent her, the public would still regard her as a killer, even if they remained unaware of the snowman's fate. And, now that she had ended one life, would that take her down the slopes to the level of the White Knight?

In a vain attempt to give some distraction, Olaf had turned on the local news channel and put it up on the wall mounted screens. It was only Elsa who paid attention in the end, and she was quietly outraged at the amount of coverage they gave 'Marshmallow'. After all the police presence and public witnesses, they had treated the second rampage in two days with a remarkably short segment which they were brining to a close.

"_As reported by the Swat teams who entered the sealed zone, the vigilante known as the Snow Queen was responsible for the creature's attack. Officer Johnson quoted that the vigilante held an unidentified hostage," _The reporter stated, drawing on biased sources and half the news which had come in. "_Officer Smith, who was in a second team which met the vigilante's creature, also said that there was a second woman in a similar costume. This is the second time that the Snow Queen has collaborated with a fellow vigilante, following camera footage of her and Flynn Rider storming a restaurant last month._

"_When a third team entered the zone, they found that the creature dubbed 'Marshmallow' by social media had disappeared for a second time after he was witnessed heading towards the river. At present, experts are searching each building for the creature in Riverside before letting residents return to their homes. Captain Latimer believes that the crisis is averted._

"_In other news, an accident at Cy-Corps in Arcadia has claimed the life of one man although a body is yet to be found; local demolitions expert Ral-…"_

Olaf abruptly turned the news channel, torn between feeling they had attack his brother too much and not given Marshall the attention he deserved. He stared between his companions quietly, feeling dwarfed by the calm which was a relief.

"Thank you," Olaf began after a few false starts. "For helping him. I'm sorry if I was unreasonable at any point. I just-…"

"Olaf," Elsa interrupted, nodding slowly. "I understand. I would have fought against it all as well if it had been Anna. Do you need a place to stay tonight?"

It was a query which was made on Olaf's behalf, rather than wait until he had to think of a solution himself. His apartment building in particular had been studied by the forensics as the site of Marshmallow's hiding, and a notice had been sent out to inform the residents that other arrangements would have to be made for tonight. Naturally, Elsa did not want to leave Olaf alone after the blow he had been dealt, and had in fact already sent word to the Noble Estate to prepare a room. He gave a half-hearted, non-committal answer and said no more.

They fell into a soundless collective again for an intermediate amount of time, during which Rapunzel discreetly shed herself of the purple costume to reveal her regular clothes underneath the protective layer. Her wig was piled atop the folded article and paired with the aubergine-coloured boots completely ready to go back into storage. Elsa considered the role Rapunzel had played thoughtfully while watching these actions, and wonder whether her cousin had the same calling she did when it came to the public. After all, Rapunzel had her set of powers which would be invaluable in public catastrophes where the Snow Queen was not available.

The small group's meditations were broken by the approach of the last, expected member. After guiding Anna and Olaf out of the quarantine zone, Kristoff had offered to escort the younger Noble home once it was clear he would not be needed at the scene. What he had been doing since then was unclear, and a matter of politely intrigued inquiry.

"Oh, she tried to get some information out of me once we got to her place," Kristoff explained when Elsa asked. She could tell that Anna was quickly becoming a problem they would have to deal with sooner rather than later. "I didn't let anything slip, but she did show me her noticeboard before I gave an excuse about fetching Sven from the station. She's got a massive file on you, Elsa. I think the Snow Queen should probably make a house call if we don't want her finding the Ice Palace."

Elsa hummed a sad tone of agreement, already trying to figure out how best to get the information way from her sister without causing too much harm. She knew, personally, how damaging it had been for Anna to be rebuked by her idol when they were children. It probably wouldn't be an entirely different reaction now.

"Who's going to go to Anna's first?" Elsa asked, turning to Rapunzel, who glanced at the purple suit in alarm. "You or me? As a civilian, obviously."

"I don't know. I guess I will. She's probably worrying about where I am," Rapunzel commented before going silent. She made a brief, apologetic expression towards Elsa for her reasoning, which Elsa could only accept. Anna knew that only one of her relatives were crime fighters, so she would probably assume Elsa was just at the office. But what Rapunzel said next was more surprising, if partially expected. "I think I want to go home."

It was a perfectly natural thing for Rapunzel to feel. In the space of a month, her first time away from home and in a big city, she had gone from a regular girl to a woman who could change the world with her new, stable capabilities. There wasn't any good reason for her to be bound to Arendelle any longer, now that they all understood the serum had no adverse effects. And there was also Rapunzel's parents to think about. They probably wouldn't want their only child staying in a city where vigilantes ran wild, monsters trashed streets and she could be kidnapped. So, yes, it probably was time for Rapunzel to return to Corona.

"What's the earliest train you can get?" Kristoff asked, taking over the arrangements when he saw Elsa freeze in thought.

"There'll be one tomorrow, probably," Rapunzel guessed, standing up and holding out the bundle of clothes she had worn for the battle. "So I should get back to the apartment and talk to Anna."

"That would be a good idea," Elsa neutrally agreed, studying the offered purple suit for the barest of moments before saying; "Keep it. You'll never know when you're needed. And I can think of at least one person who'll need your assistance in Corona."

* * *

When Anna returned to her apartment the next night, she felt a certain level of emptiness at the absence of Rapunzel. The weights and treadmill were still littered around the living room, almost completely forgotten since both cousins had raced out of the building the day before. To use them seemed pointless now, as they were only bought to test Rapunzel's endurance over anything else. Anna had hoped the brunette might stay for a little longer, although she couldn't hold the girl accountable for the sudden urge to return home. There were enough secret identities and police pursuits in Arendelle. It was only fair that Corona gained another hero.

Yet Anna still got the feeling that Rapunzel had only departed so quickly to prevent the redhead from interrogating her on the whereabouts of the Snow Queen.

The Snow Queen, who was quickly becoming an unhealthy obsession. But Anna was incensed by the first bit of interaction she had had with the vigilante, who had displayed a personal concern for her safety and was desperately unhappy to see her in any dangerous situation. If that wasn't a reason for making direct contact with the Snow Queen, then Anna would have to find another excuse to continue what even she recognised to be stalking.

Even with this awareness, Anna was not above indulging her mania with the public figure. While she may have been preoccupied with making the most of Rapunzel's last night in Arendelle, her mind had been slowly building new theories on the small web of informants and there were now enough articles across the internet for her to find supporting evidence.

Anna was now certain that not only was Kristoff an ally of the Snow Queen, but so was Olaf. It surely couldn't be coincidence that Marshall had been turned into Marshmallow, and the fact that the pair had talked about the Snow Queen so knowingly only served to implement them further. Could it be at all possible that the Snow Queen was more closely connected to her than she thought? Now that she thought about it, of the seven people who had attended Olaf's party the other day, over half could be named as linked to the vigilante. Might it possible that Elsa was in contact with the Snow Queen as well?

This idea was considered for only a few seconds before Anna disregarded the notion entirely. There was no way Elsa would willingly involve herself in law-breaking activities. Not only was her sister supremely introverted and a severe recluse, but the years she had spent studying martial arts under Li Shang were more than enough to give her a deeply engrained respect for fighting. The kind of respect which made her extremely unwilling to use it. Besides, what role could Elsa have that was remotely useful for the Snow Queen? It was probably just a coincidence. After all, hans had also been invited to the party, and he certainly had no links to the Snow Queen.

Nevertheless, Anna had found a second lead on locating the Snow Queen's lair. Before, there had only been Kristoff to follow. But now there was a whole new world of possibilities to track down the group, many of which involved following its two known members to find any places their notably different lives crossed over. Surely there couldn't be too many places like that.

In the interests of narrowing down her search and adding to her already vast knowledge on the local superhero, Anna pulled her practically bulging noticeboard out of its hiding place in her bedroom with the intention of spending the evening in search of more space to pin a forest's worth of paper to it. It was, however, during her brief absence that her quest for the Snow Queen was cut short. Upon dragging the corkboard back into the living amidst the mess of exercise equipment, Anna shivered at the sudden chill before finally seeing the new presence.

"Holy shit!" Anna yelled when she realised it was the Snow Queen standing in front of her. This was the first entirely peaceful moment she had encountered the blue woman in, although she could tell at once that the Queen was no more relaxed than when she faced a fight in a street. The vigilante's shoulders and arms were tense, eyes locked on Anna with an intense… Familiarity? Anna could have sworn the Snow Queen looked at her as if she were more than just a girl that had a habit of getting into trouble. "It's you! How did you get in here?"

Without speaking or taking her eyes off Anna, the Snow Queen stepped to one side and motioned at the now wide open window behind the television. The curtains trailed in the night-time breeze, revealing such a tall space that it would have been no difficulty for the Snow Queen to walk through. There was a question of _how _exactly she got to the window, but Anna was willing to forgo that explanation in her awe. She now felt completely validated in having searched for the Snow Queen; seeing that the Snow Queen had also taken an interest in her.

"Alright, you opened my window," Anna unnecessarily said aloud, although the Snow Queen waited patiently. "So you know where I live. I mean; _obviously _you know where I live because you're here, in the suit and being _terrifying. _'Terrifying' in a good way. It suits you, especially if you're trying to scare villains. Wait, are you trying to scare me? Is that why you're here? 'Cause I'm not a bad guy. I'm just… Anna Noble."

At those last three words, the Snow Queen's hardened gaze faltered and she momentarily turned away.

"That is why I am here," The Snow Queen explained, her voice strained under the deep, warbling tones of her disguising microphone. To Anna, it could just be that this meeting was something her hero didn't want to do. "Because we keep encountering each other, and we shouldn't."

"The first two times were because you came to my rescue," Anna tried to defend, taking a careful step closer. In response, the Snow Queen merely raised her hand in a gesture which could be both threatening and comforting. "And I just want to thank you. But Flynn Rider got in my way and I was there yesterday because my cousin went to help you. You know? Rapunzel? You injected her and gave her superpowers."

"I know what I did," The Snow Queen interrupted, slowly lowering her hand. Her braid fluttered heavily, yet freely in the gust of wind which burst through the window. "And you should know it was only my intention to save her. I didn't want Rapunzel Engel drawn into my world and I don't want you to either."

To punctuate her point, the Snow Queen threw up a blizzard in a narrow column around her. Her face was blurred and mostly hidden behind this flickering wall, although Anna could still make out most of her expression. She almost appeared to be pained by her memories.

"But I'm not afraid," Anna insisted, trying to take another step closer. "You don't have to protect me. I owe my life to you!"

"No, you don't," The Snow Queen argued back with a stronger surge of determination. In accord with her will, the localised blizzard expanded to force Anna back. "You don't owe me anything. I have a duty to you. I have a duty to this city. And the way things are going; I think you should be afraid. If not by me, then by him."

"The White Knight?" Anna supplied, visibly shocking the vigilante by naming what was probably her arch nemesis. "That's what Kristoff called him. I saw him steal that… GDU from Westerguard Industries. I know what he's capable of. And I know you could stop him."

The Snow Queen didn't look convinced, although her ears did twitch at the mention of the GDU. Surely, Anna reasoned, surely that theft was something the Snow Queen was investigating. And through her connection with Westerguard Industries Anna could provide a number of leads. Anna hadn't even thought about what she wanted once she contacted the vigilante. Perhaps joining the Snow Queen was always her secret intention, even from herself.

But then the woman in blue turned to the side, her mind made up.

"I will not risk your safety," The Snow Queen asserted, preparing to leave through the window without allowing Anna any room for argument. "If you really want to repay me, or honour me, or _respect _me, you'll stay away from me. As for Officer Bjorgman, he informs me of important cases. He does not know where I hide. I only tell him of dangers to the public."

Even though she couldn't comprehend how she knew this, Anna recognised the Snow Queen's claims to be lies. She hadn't heard the vigilante speak that much, and when she had a voice changer had always been used. But for some reason Anna could hear a verbal tell that this was not the truth. Which only served to indicate that Kristoff did know where the Snow Queen's lair was.

"I won't stop looking for you," Anna spoke up, although she was admittedly unnerved at the thought of the Snow Queen not taking this response well. Foolishly, she waved a hand at her noticeboard when the vigilante turned back to look at her. "I have all the notes in the world on you. It won't be long until I track down your hideout one way or another and, please, I just want to help you. I'm not going to betray you. You're the first person in _years_ who's acted like you give a damn about me."

It was an exaggeration. After all, Hans had been supportive since before her parent's died. But it got a reaction out of the Snow Queen, who strode across the room to stand less than a foot from Anna's face. A number of thoughts passed through her mind, and her eyes strained in an attempt to spot any defining facial features apart from those blue eyes. Could it be that the Snow Queen was going to have a change of heart and indulge Anna's wishes?

But then the room turned very cold.

"It's because I care that this must be." The Snow Queen sadly said, eyes averted and shoulders slumping. "Please forgive me."

With a sudden burst of movement, the Snow Queen shouldered into Anna with such force that the redhead was sent sprawling into the couch. This give the vigilante a clear path to the noticeboard, which had suddenly started frosting over in a thick layer of ice which ruined the painstakingly written notes and carefully formulated lists of potential locations for the hideout. Taking each end of the board in her grasp, the Snow Queen lifted the growing block of ice with little effort before promptly flinging it across the room.

It flew neatly out of the open window and disappeared as gravity took hold. There was a crash, a shatter and a chorus a car horns.

"No!" Anna yelled, feeling like she had been stabbed in the chest while tears began to spring from her eyes at this symbol of rejection.

As an afterthought, the Snow Queen also picked up Anna's cell phone from the coffee table. Before the redhead's eyes, the silver metal and colourful plastic dimmed into a slim sliver of frost. Then the Snow Queen squeezed and the phone broke into hundreds of pieces. Whether the vigilante was aware of the numerous photos of herself stored on there did not matter. It was done only as a warning.

And then the Snow Queen leapt out of the window and vanished, pausing only to spare Anna one last, sad look. Anna, however, refused to face her hero in favour of curling up in a distraught ball on the sofa. After several failed attempts to catch herself, she let the burning tears flow while embracing the deep woe which consumed her.

She didn't know how long she lay there, crying silently into her cushions. From her perspective, time no longer mattered. The feelings which held her captive were not entirely unfamiliar. Last time this kind of sorrow have overtaken her was when the police had rung her four years ago. Back then, she had been able to manage with the melancholic gloom until she had realised, a full week after the tragedy, that Elsa was not going to reply to her calls or emails. It was then that Anna had felt truly alone in the world.

Following this, Anna had started her descent into the uninhibited lifestyle most people expected from an heiress to a billion-dollar company. At the first opportunity she had moved out of the family mansion to her current apartment just to be closely to any party which may be thrown on short notice. In the first year after her parents' death Anna attended at least three spur-of-the-moment celebrations in the Mountains which had ended with the police closing them down. During this time, Hans had started to cement himself in her life and, thankfully, began guiding her to the best raves in the city, as well as showing her how to interact with all the classes of people she encountered. She still had the tendency to drink too much, and Anna half-suspected that her drinks may have been spiked once or twice, but the police were less involved on the most part.

Until, of course, her much publicised night of indecency and debauchery. Then Anna had finally decided to try returning to a less morally ambiguous life. More sensible. She had barely escaped with a mere one-hundred-and-sixty-eight hours of community service and a fine for the damages, a sentence which had alienated her from almost everyone she had encountered at those parties. But this blot on her personal history was also what introduced her to _Oaken's _and gave her the responsibility required to make a social recovery.

This had been enough for the time being, but since the Snow Queen had saved her from George Jones Anna had found an obsession which kept her out of trouble (on the most part) and introduced her to a new community. Yet now she had been ousted by the central figure of this fixation and she was, once again, alone.

_No_, a part of her mind recalled through the internalised loathing, _Elsa's here this time._ Which was true. Elsa had been far more open and attentive in the past few months, even if she was less available than Hans. But for some reason she just couldn't place, Anna felt the sudden need to speak to her sister. Maybe it was due to the fact that, while Rapunzel was visiting, Anna had focussed more on making sure her cousin was comfortable or even that Anna could remember Elsa's cell number more readily than Hans'. Whatever the case was, Anna found herself reaching r her landline and carefully dialling in the vital digits.

It rung four times before Elsa picked up.

"_Hello? Anna?" _She answered carefully, sounding quite like she did not believe that her sister had called her. Indeed, Anna did not quite believe it herself and hesitated in answering. "_Anna? Are you alright?" _

"Yeah," Anna responded, voice betraying her with a hiccupping crack of unhappiness. She could hear Elsa's breathing become more shallow in worry. "No, erm… I had a break-in. It was… It was the Snow Queen. Could you-… Do you think you could come over tonight? I don't really want to be alone."

There was a momentary pause, in which time Anna jumped to the conclusion that Elsa was going to decline with some excuse concerning business. From the muffled sounds on the other end of the line, it seemed that Elsa was filing important documents or tidying away disorganised clutter from wherever she was. Anna heard a notably male voice whisper something indistinguishable, although she didn't care to focus on this.

"_I'll be there in about ten minutes," _Elsa surprisingly agreed with the distinctive noise of heels on pavement echoing behind. There was a strange amount of echoing where she was. But Anna only heard the urgency in Elsa's words. "_Do you want chocolate?"_

* * *

What little camera footage of the battle with Marshall Hansen existed was currently being projected against three walls of the conference room. Much of the shaky camerawork had been taken directly from the news reports, and as such focused on only three separate dominant figures. As always, the Snow Queen was key among these jittering images; especial emphasis being drawn to her weak and notably hunched figure. A cursory glance at social media had shown him that most of her 'fans' had asked the question of why the winter warrior was so lethargic and a number of theories resulted. He, of course, knew the truth.

It was also expected that Marshmallow would dominate the airwaves, since the appearance of such a monstrous visage had been discussed by the highest offices of several nations. A few extreme Republicans had also used this artificial construct as 'proof' of global warming's non-existence. Other public figures had raised their voices in defence of the mutated man, since he had quite conclusively shown intelligence by the testament of a swat team. But, most importantly, the creation had been destroyed. He has learn from this mistake and would not attempt to play God to this extent again.

The third subject of the assembled men's discussion was the appearance of this new vigilante. Almost everyone had caught onto her youthful, near-innocent disposition and labelled her as a fan of the Snow Queen, an idea which was likely contributed to by the double of the blue mask. It was only the small committee of four who knew the truth of where both the mask and the purple suit had come from, excluding the other team who supported the Snow Queen. Thankfully, they also knew that this sidekick would not be an issue in Arendelle for much longer.

"I guess I'll say it first," Goddard said with a smug grin from the right side of the table, his small eyes fixed solely on the disintegrating form of Marshall Hansen. "You've messed up. You as bad as the rest of us."

Goddard giggled to himself at the thought of the fearsome White Knight being fallible. However, the Knight did not tolerate any sign of weakness and quickly unsheathed his sword to slam it into the table top beside the fat man. The dissenter jumped in terror and there was an unsavoury smell, although no one addressed it.

"Need I remind you, Mr Goddard," The White Knight tersely corrected; his voice grating like rusted metal on sandpaper. "That testing FRZ-52 as an alternative was _your _idea. Everything that has happened is on your head. And this is the last time I will take advice from you, unless you are willing to offer your neck as future compensation. Am I clear?"

The man whom most thought to resemble an overly large pig in a suit squirmed in his seat before slowly nodding, wisely choosing to be quiet.

"Forgive me for saying," Duke Weselton stammered from the other side of the table, eyes fixed on the glowering demonic figure of the Knight which had been silhouetted by the projections. "But Mr Hansen's… Demise will present problems for us. Not only will the army begin investigating where a soldier has gone, but I have also had a long conversation with a Mr Bubbles about increased CIA surveillance of the city. This will make your movements very difficult from now on."

"Not to mention," The fourth man unhappily and perhaps unwillingly rasped from his dark corner of the conference table. "What may happen when the army and the CIA compare notes on the events of the last two days. Imagine the conclusions they might draw when they realise that Marshall disappeared the same night a twelve-foot-tall monster made a scene next door to his brother's apartment?"

The White Knight did not give his subversive challenger the liberty of a blank, silencing stare. This man seldom contributed to the intermittent meetings, except to give the finer details of targets or resources or make a moral stand against the Knight's activities. If he had joined wholeheartedly, he would have been a great ally. For now he was just a loosely leashed advisor who would rather see the Knight's organisation fall even if it took him with it. He was still much better than Weselton or Goddard.

"For the moment, no evidence exists to indicate Hansen was Marshmallow. We can tell the army that remains have been found in the rubble at Riverside, with tests proving inconclusive. This way we can distance the Hansens from this mess." The Knight recommended, having already thought this requirement through.

"'For the moment'?" Weselton repeated in question, paling at the mention of the damage dealt to Riverside.

"It may be in our favour to reveal the Snow Queen is responsible for Hansens death as the plan comes to fruition," The Knight revealed, spotting the immediate look of distraught this pulled from his third confederate. "The public will always support their troops, and it will turn the city against their hero."

"And what of Elsa Noble?" Goddard piped up spitefully, his hatred for her refuelling his voice. "You promised to wipe her out of the picture as well."

Cocking his head to one side, the White Knight found it the greatest feat of human stupidity that Goddard had not yet realised that Elsa Noble and the Snow Queen were the exact same person. Then again, barely anyone had put two and two together. Not even her sister was exempt from this blindness, although this played into the Knight's favour for now. The eventually victory he was building towards would be all the sweeter when he finally took Elsa's life apart bit by bit.

"Keep that tentative balance you have with her. Let her appear successful in the boardroom, but make her struggle. Make the public see her as the brains behind the Noble Corporation," The Knight instructed, repeating words he had said at every meeting for the past three months. "This will make it all the easier for me to deliver on my promise. So long as you use the plans supplied by George Jones to full effect."

Goddard nodded attentive, probably barely paying attention as he heard the key words he wanted to. The man seated next to him gave a much greater start when the topic of Elsa's fate came back into the centre of the discussion.

"Bear in mind that you also said Elsa would be left alive at the end of it all," The confederate insisted with a mountain of stubbornness. "Her and Anna. They're not even central to the plan."

"I _have_ promised that I will not kill them," The Knight assured with an alarming tone of genuine respect. "But they may not want to live. So long as you supply what I have requested they will not come to mortal harm. Now what do you know of the girl-in-purple, Mr Pabbie?"

Leaning out of the shadowy corner of the conference, Pabbie glanced at his three companions with deeply troubled eyes. It was obvious that he was not keen on any form of harm coming to Elsa and Anna at all, but his dealing with the White Knight's proposal had degenerated to this and could to further extents. Additionally, on the matter of the remarkable regenerating woman, he cast a fearful sidelong glance at Goddard. There wasn't much that could be said without risking Rapunzel and Elsa's secrets if the tycoon had not yet realised the truth.

"I know that's she leaving the city and, barring extreme extraneous factors, should not be returning," Pabbie explained, tiptoeing around the finer details. "She knows all I know on her abilities and, before you ask, there is no way the Snow Queen can harness the same gifts."

"Very good," The Knight complimented, knowing that Pabbie could not lie to him with the stakes set against him. "Although, for security reasons I may notify a… Friend in Corona who may be very interested in this development. This should keep the violet brat distracted enough to be of no use to the Snow Queen."

No one spoke in response to this separate plot, the matters of Corona being of no concern to them. Instead it seemed they had discussed all the troubling subjects of the day, with the exception of one more query from the Mayor.

"What about your relation to the Snow Queen now?" Weselton timidly asked, keeping uneasy eye-contact with the reflective visor. "If she didn't discover your existence during the acquisition of the GDU, she will certainly begin tracking you down now. Won't this interfere?"

In a moment of thought, the White Knight strode away from the head of the conference table to peek through the blinds on the windows. Slightly below him, but well within his field of vision, sat the regional office of Westerguard Industries; its sign illuminating the skyline in a constant competition with its taller neighbour. His gaze slowly travelled down the length of the building to the street below, aware that his proxy-entanglement with the Snow Queen had begun not twenty feet away from this spot. In a metaphorical sense, the distance between them was closing quite quickly.

"She does not know who I am yet, and she cannot find me," The Knight boasted as he turned back to the meeting. "But you make a good point, Mayor. She probably will not stop searching for me, indeed my stunt with Marshmallow may incense her to do so with a stronger commitment. Perhaps I should send her a message. After all, a little display of power never hurt anyone."

* * *

**Boy, that was long. Hope it was worth it.**

**Please review.**


	26. The Man in White - Part One

**Well, this is bad. Really bad. I should've have updated weeks ago. And I don't even have a good excuse, other than I've been catching up with my DVD collection and reading. I think I need someone to remind me to write.**

**Anyway, I'm glad to see the collective shock at Pabbie's betrayal in the reviews. Hopefully that will explain some of his actions (and could raise many more questions). I suspect many of you think the same as Onora in saying Pabbie can't expect this business to end well for the Nobles. I'm just going to be annoying and say probably, but there's a reason for everything.**

**As for Marshall's demise, it was the best way I could see of ending that arc. In response to Shadowtiger999, who points out that Marshmallow didn't die in the film, let's say that sadly the dead stay dead and the living stay alive until they're killed in the manner of Steven Moffat. Although I don't even he can keep people down permanently. **

**Finally; a question raised by JJAdrews. What will happen to Rapunzel? Well, as I have promised for weeks there will be a spin-off of sorts but it's been slow going since I've been working on this story so much (I say 'so much', I mean 'more'). However, I promise that the first chapter of that will be up before the next chapter of this, so watch out.**

**Thank you to everyone who has commented, you guys keep me writing. And a particular thank you to Frostbite, who called this the best Superhero AU ever. I'd disagree because of the typos (there are way too many to be tolerated). **

* * *

_Elsa wasn't aware she had fallen until her shoulder blades crunched against the lid of a dumpster. This crash flipped her in a painful, jagged somersault which deposited her roughly in the deserted alleyway amongst piles of garbage bags. She lay there, in shock, for an indeterminable length of time and shivered uncomfortably. His words still rang through her head, his meaning clear. This was a deal-breaker in her life as the Snow Queen. It was a deal-breaker for her life as a whole. _

_One of the few things she had remembered after her fall was to keep her hand clamped against her chest. Every breath was harsh, and pulled unpleasantly on her ribs. There couldn't be much longer she could last without needing medical attention. Even now, she would need more than Pabbie's skills and limited resources to fix this. That is, if he would come to her assistance again. _

_In her other hand, Elsa still grasped the cell phone which had been mockingly gifted to her. If what she had been told was in fact true, then she only had one phone call left. Part of her wondered whether the promise was valid, but it was her sole hope now. There was only the issue of who to call. _

_Naturally, the emergency services should be first to know that she was in dire need of help. They would also be the best equipped to rectify her wounds. Sadly, this would lead to the public discovering that Elsa Noble was the Snow Queen. And this would bring everything she had worked for to complete devastation before her enemies could make good on their promises. Prison, exile and possibly execution would await her if Elsa resorted to calling the hospital. _

_Alternatively, she could call Olaf or Kristoff. Elsa knew in this case she could count on them, despite their earlier arguments. But there was no guarantee she would reach them. In the wake of the blizzards, it was unlikely their phones would receive any signal. It was already patchy enough as it is, and she may not have time to give her location. She cursed herself for thinking she could do this without telling anyone where she was. And as for their landlines; Olaf was still living with Kristoff, and Elsa had no idea what the blond's number was. Neither of them were home anyway, in all likelihood._

_There was Belle, whose phone number was still engrained in Elsa's mind. At this moment, Belle was among the highest ranks of people Elsa wanted to speak to, if only fleetingly and for vain comfort. However, for the same reasons the hospital couldn't be called, Elsa's friend from the Mayor's Office was not allowed to know her secret yet. One day, should Elsa live through this, maybe. But not now, under these circumstances. Especially when it had been going so well for them._

_Thus, Elsa was left with just one option. But this one wouldn't be a call for help so much as it was an apology. Perhaps, in her fading mind, it was better because of this fact. Therefore, with a shaky hand Elsa carefully typed in the only landline number she knew and held the cell phone against her ear. _

_With a deep intent, Elsa listened as the call tones droned into eternity. Two, then four, then eight. Each one longer than the last but passing with a terrifying speed. No answer. _

"_Come on, come on," Elsa pleaded with the imaginary forces which governed her universe. "Please. Pick up, Anna, pick up."_

_Yet still, there was nothing. The phone rang a generous twenty times, then there was a momentary quiet. Elsa dared to hope that she would hear the voice she wanted to most of all. Then an emotionless, electronic recording told her Anna wasn't in and that Elsa should leave a message after the beep. Elsa groaned in the tragedy of it. Her single call was wasted, and she was sure she was going to die soon. _

_The beep rang while Elsa was distracted by inspecting her wound. It was definitely deep, but there was too much blood to check. _

"_Anna," Elsa said as calmly as she could, although the tremor of fear was clear for her sister to hear when she eventually got the message. "Listen. I-… I'm sorry. So sorry. For everything. Everything's that's happened to us over the years. It's all my fault. And you deserve to know the truth…"_

* * *

_96 Hours Earlier_

"Hello?" Elsa rather grumpily asked when she took the phone Gerda offered her on her first Sunday off in weeks.

Snow lazily drifted from the sky outside the window, a simple piece of natural beauty which was nothing to do with Elsa on this occasion. The Christmas season of Arendelle was every bit as idyllic as she remembered, and already the Noble Estate was blanketed in a heavy layer of snow which stretched uninterrupted from the doorstep to the wooded fringes of the grounds. Beyond that, the landscape was a minimalist image of white, grey and blue painting the garden, horizon, hills and sky. Not a soul in sight. And that alone was the key to pure peace in Elsa's eyes.

Since the incident with Marshall, Elsa had barely had a moment to herself. In a quest to atone for her perceived wrong in ending the misery, she had thrown herself head first into both her roles in Arendelle. By day, she was Elsa Noble; a young CEO charged with the financial fate of an entire city and responsible for keeping manufacturing costs down while simultaneously increasing sales and expanding research. By night, she was the Snow Queen; a figure the public largely seemed to fear but also be thankful for, while the media vilified her and Captain Latimer hunted her down. Every day for three months, Elsa would make what little progress she could in the face of Goddard's thinly veiled threats and challenges; then dedicate herself to squashing out muggers, rioters and abusers, receiving an alarming patchwork of bruises in the process. If a doctor were to see the amount of fresh and fading patches of dark blue and black, they would never have believed Elsa had in fact been completely healed by her cousin at the beginning of the fall.

This, as Kristoff had not hesitated in pointing out, was unhealthy. Not only did Elsa put herself at an unfair risk nightly, but she also put the Noble Corporation in danger of being left without a clear leader should she be killed in the pursuit of a drunken gun-nut. With this argument, Kristoff had insisted that she take at least two nights a week away from the Snow Queen and Sundays off from all company business. However, in her complete disregard for her wellbeing when faced with the debt she thought she owed, Elsa ignored this advice until Olaf had sat her down the week before and also explained that she _needed_ time to relax. He had to remind her, almost constantly, that there was no blame on her part for what happened to Marshall. After this, Elsa finally listened and agreed to have one days rest for every six she was the Snow Queen.

Although this didn't stop Elsa from feeling guilty. In fact, she had fully intended to use this first Sunday off, which was the last one before Christmas, to do her own research into the sickeningly enigmatic White Knight. A search of the Tung Shao Pass on the internet brought up a basic history of the northern Chinese valley, but nothing of any unusual activity there. Even fewer results were produced when Shang Li was searched in conjunction with the Pass. Of course, Elsa realised that the Chinese Government did not want news of any internal conflicts reaching the international stage, and it wasn't unexpected that the Tung Shao Pass and anyone who might live there was kept top secret. But that didn't mean the head of the Noble Corporation could not slyly ask for information from the regional office in Beijing.

Unfortunately, such an act had not yet been reached by midday. This was partly because it had taken this long for Elsa to go through her morning rituals of exercise and yoga (which pulled on a few, hurt muscles). But it was almost entirely down to the interruption of having a phone call from an as yet unidentified source.

There was a pause between Elsa answering the call and the response.

"_Elsa," _A familiar voice mischievously said. "_D'ya wanna build a snowman?"_

The elder sister couldn't help but smile at the question, even though it did call back another source of Elsa's guilt. Anna. She had been asking that every Christmas for years through the crack under her sister's door and had always been disappointed by Elsa's reluctance. Despite the amnesia resulting from the accident, Anna still recalled that they had always built a snowman when the first snows fell in the winter. She did not, however, remember that such snowmen had also been built in spring, summer and fall.

Additionally, there was the increased reference to her elder sister that Anna had fallen into the habit of. With each passing week, the redhead would text and call Elsa more and more frequently; often at inopportune times. Nevertheless, Elsa tried to answer as much as she could since she realised that Anna needed such companionship after what the Snow Queen had done. Elsa was deeply conflicted over her harsh actions that night, since the loss of all her notes had angered Anna but drawn the sisters slightly closer. Privately, Elsa also thought the more time Anna spent with her meant Hans was seeing less of her sister, a fact the blonde sadly wanted to encourage. There were, of course, difficulties in trying to subvert their relationship.

"Anna, hello," Elsa brightened considerably. "How was Venice?"

"_Cold," _Anna replied honestly, although her tone didn't indicate this was a bad thing. "_Didn't help that I fell off a gondola one evening. I kinda wish we'd managed to go earlier than last week, but with the entire Riverside Regeneration fiasco…"_

The fiasco to which Anna was referring was the result of an initiative Hans had put in place a few days after the Marshmallow rampage. Rather than increase taxes in the city and leave people effectively homeless or jobless for the foreseeable future, the youngest Westerguard had injected a huge sum of money from his personal funds into building firms and engineer offices to begin work immediately. It had been a practical success, with the damage to apartment blocks and businesses reversed in a few months. The issue this left, on the other hand, was the fact that Hans had damaged his standing with his parents to the point they had threatened to remove his allowances and trust fund. Thankfully, for Hans and Anna, he had been able to make back the money in under six weeks.

"But other than that, it was fine?" Elsa pressed on, trying to ignore the intrinsic presence of the Westerguard boy on that particular trip.

"_Hell yeah!" _Anna cried with great enthusiasm. "_God, Elsa, you should go! They have this gelato made with a Belgian chocolate sauce, and there's all the museums and galleries. And you should take a holiday. You've been working at the company too much."_

Elsa did her best to ignore her sister's concerns. Working at the company was essential to ensuring Anna continued to have a large reserve of money at her disposal. Besides, if she were to take a holiday now it was highly likely Goddard would stage a coup d'état and force them out of business. Of course, if she anticipated this now Elsa could use any corporate dissent as a reason to fire the man she hated so much and be done with it. The only problem, however, was that the rest of the board would criticise her much more openly; partly due to a disconcertingly misplaced loyalty in Goddard, and also because he filled a major role in the company's legal department which couldn't be succeeded very easily. If the wrong person took over Goddard's job, even more instability could ensue.

"I'll keep it in mind." Elsa half-lied, not wanting to make any commitments which may endanger her position in the family business.

"_So are you coming out today?" _Anna eagerly questioned, her voice torn between daring hope and expectant disappointment.

"I beg your pardon?" Elsa answered, caught off-guard by the response.

"_Are you coming to build a snowman?" _Anna repeated, a thumbling noise in the background indicating that she was highly excited, even if she sounded like she was pleading. "_We're all going to the park. We've got sledges and a carrot for the nose and a thermos of hot chocolate. It'll be great."_

Apprehensively, Elsa considered whether she should leave the mansion today. In her heart, she still feared her powers would manifest uncontrollably and put Anna in unnecessary danger. But if she were out in the natural snow, she could play off any development of frost or increase in snowflakes as just part of the weather. And the park was quite a wide open space, meaning the chances of her hitting Anna with a rogue blast would be relatively small. There was just one person who might stand in the way.

"When you say 'we', who do you mean?" Elsa carefully asked, trying to avoid insulting Anna by making it too obvious she didn't want to see her sister's boyfriend.

"_Oh, well… Hans is going," _Anna reluctantly revealed, a quiet admission that had Elsa worrying her sister was becoming aware of the distrust which ran between her and Hans. "_But I've called your friends as well. Olaf's excited. And _Kristoff _will be there."_

The way she mentioned Kristoff's name made Elsa sceptical of Anna's intentions. She had drawn out the noun like it was a bargaining piece which the blonde just had to reply to, which had Elsa wondering what exactly Anna thought was going on between them. But at the same time, namedropping Kristoff and Olaf was practically nailing the coffin on Elsa's quiet day of research. There was no way her allies would let the subject of her misspent down time drop if she refused Anna.

And, secretly, Elsa did really want to go.

"I've got nothing on today. Just tell me when and where." Elsa agreed after a pause, smiling when she heard Ana's squeal of joy on the other end of the line.

"_Well we'll come get you," _Anna quickly offered, keen to save Elsa any trouble at all in this monumental event of coming outside for once. "_Hans has an old military jeep which'll get through the snow, so we can be with you in half an hour. All you have to do is dress warmly!"_

Even though she would rather that Hans didn't so generously put his services at her disposal, Elsa had to accept the offer if only to keep her sister happy. Anna's happiness always had to come first, especially after the near fatal blow to her confidence in the wake of the Snow Queen's visit.

* * *

In an unexpected twist, the park was almost completely empty when Hans' jeep pulled up outside the gates. It seemed the low temperature and high concentration of snow (which persisted despite the fact salt and grit had been spread on the roads) had dissuaded the majority of regular park-goers from attempting to enjoy the afternoon outdoors. There were a few teenagers sledging down the gentle swell of a small hill in the corner nearest the Mountains and a handful of brave souls walking their dogs through the banks of white. Indeed, because of the surprising vacancy of the public space, Elsa felt all the more comfortable at risking the outside world. There would be fewer witnesses if something went wrong in any case.

The journey to the park had also passed in a quite enjoyable atmosphere, as Hans had focussed mostly on navigating the neglected lanes which encompassed the land around the Noble Estate. As a result, Anna and Elsa had been left to catch up without interruption. By the time that had reached the outskirts of Arendelle, Elsa already knew not only what Anna had done every day she had been in Venice; but the details of where they had stayed, what they had to eat and an anthology worth of funny stories at the expense of Anna or Hans or both of them.

However, this meant that there was nothing to stop Elsa from describing what she did day-to-day. And there wasn't much to say in these regards. There weren't even any clever lies Elsa could make about high society or talk about any of the contracts or decisions within the company due to the presence of a business rival. All of which made Elsa feel very awkward when the conversation lapsed into silence after a very basic account of the fortnight Anna had been away. During the fragmented discussion following this, Anna had again made a sly, suggestive reference about Kristoff which Elsa felt was bordering on fantasy even if she said nothing to deny Anna's suspicions.

There was unfortunately no good way to explain how Elsa Noble, the richest woman in Arendelle, knew Kristoff Bjorgman, a low ranking officer with the city police department. At least, nothing Elsa could come up with would adequately account for how she came to know Kristoff after meeting him in a hospital room after Anna's voodoo-induced collapse.

Thankfully, they got to the park before Anna could broach the topic any further and the three quickly climbed out of the jeep to begin trudging through the cold, ankle-high layers of frozen rain. They were mostly silent, apart from Hans and Anna's groans of exertion and damp socks as the snow invaded their boots with every short step. For Elsa, walking through the drifts was no different to walking on a beach. She was completely aware that snow surrounded her feet and was steadily soaking her pant legs, but she couldn't feel the bite or the chill and simply pushed through the obstacle as she followed her companions to the prearranged meeting spot in the rough centre of the park.

The centre of the park was actually occupied by a small lake or a large pond, depending on how the boundary of size was defined, and this served as the most obvious landmark in the wide area of city greenery. Around the banks was a perimeter of benches facing inwards, nearly all of which were vacant today. Out of the twenty or thirty seats, maybe three were occupied; two having been taken by the remaining numbers of Elsa's group.

"Hail Caesar!" Hans bizarrely greeted the pair, having been enraptured by Italian history during his holiday. Apparently it had not occurred to him, or he simply didn't care, that far more had happened in Venice than the Romans had conquered the land for a while.

"Hi!" Olaf chimed, struggling through the snow which reached farther up his shorter legs and giving his customary, throaty laugh.

In the months since Marshall had been killed, Elsa had seen Olaf go through the ups-and-downs of denial and acceptance over the fact no less than four times. For the first few weeks after the confrontation at Riverside he had been far more subdued. In a day, he would barely talk, never smile and keep his head down. He would do the bare minimum of his job at the Noble Corporation and work through the night at the Ice Palace. For the most part, Elsa and Kristoff had allowed him to wallow in despair for a few weeks after the tragedy. But as soon as a month had passed with Olaf in emotional freefall, Elsa had directed Kristoff to intercede and try to come to proper terms before the melancholy became permanent.

The reason Elsa had chosen Kristoff was threefold. Firstly, Kristoff had a reasonable idea of how to handle grief since there was always the possibility, in his line of work, of having to break bad news to someone. Secondly, Elsa felt she was unsuitable to aid anyone through emotional turmoil given that she rarely had complete control over her feelings. And thirdly, there was the internally unresolved issue of how Elsa could even mention Marshall without feeling awful for what happened. In fairness, Olaf probably respected Elsa for what she did in the end, despite the damage. It was his brother's last wish, after all, and she was apprehensive to follow through with it. Yet Elsa deeply knew that everything that happened to Marshall had an undeniable link to the work of her family.

And, ultimately, Kristoff had managed to reinvigorate Olaf's perspective on the world. Most of the time, the boy Elsa had met in Oslo smiled brightly and chirped out optimism. But there were still frequent lapses into nihilism and anger. Anger which seemed to surface only when a certain individual was mentioned.

None of them would give up the chase until the White Knight was found and defeated. Elsa only worried how far Olaf might go in trying to track him down and what punishment he would approve.

"Did you get down here alright?" Hans asked, drooping a cooler down on the frostbitten bench they had designated for holding supplies.

"Slipped and slid a bit, but didn't crash," Kristoff answered in an amiable but reserved tone, woodenly shaking Hans' hand. "Which I'm happy about. I've only just paid off my car."

"Really?" The Westerguard boy asked with a spark of interest. "What model is it?"

Elsa chose this part of the greeting to politely zone out and wander off with Anna to look over the materials they had accrued for the purpose of building a snowman. On a first glance at the surprisingly large pile of boxes and cloth bundles, Elsa wondered just how big a snowman they were going to construct, however with inspection she saw that not everything was dedicated to the task. For one thing, the cooler Hans had brought with him actually contained picnic foods and a few flasks of coffee and hot chocolate, to which Anna was helping herself. A box of porcelain mugs had also been procured from somewhere to hold the beverages, which sat upon a collection of sticks wrapped up in a blanket. Carefully tugging on one of these sticks, Elsa pulled an old hockey bat from the selection and found the name 'Kristoff B' messily painted onto the handle.

"What exactly are you planning today?" Elsa asked Anna whilst she tried to remember if Kristoff had ever mentioned an interest in hockey. "We don't even have a puck."

"Hmm? Oh, that? After we're done with the snowman we were going to play Snow Quidditch!" Anna excitedly explained, taking the hockey stick from Elsa and waving dangerously around her head.

"… Snow Quidditch?" Elsa repeated sceptically, unsure whether her sister was crazy or serious. "What is that?"

"Well, it's like regular Quidditch," Anna simply stated, with slight surprise ghosting her words. "But with snow ball bludgers. You know, the sport from _Harry Potter_?"

Elsa suddenly felt eerily like a previous generation in the sense that she had missed out on an important social or commercial development and could not figure out the first thing about it.

"I've, erm… I've never read _Harry Potter_." Elsa admitted after a minute of awkward silence.

She could have revealed her command of the cold right then and receive a similar display of abhorrent dismay from Anna. Her sister held a hand out to her just as if personally insulted by this confession, sputtering quiet, unintelligible nonsense as she came to terms with the news. From the outside, Elsa may have regarded Anna as acting over-the-top just because a certain book had not been read. Although she currently felt awful for having one less thing in common with her younger sister and made a mental note to find a copy as soon as possible.

"How could you have never read _Harry Potter_?" Anna exclaimed, drawing the attention of the men nearby. "Or seen it? Or heard about it in passing?"

"Wow, wait," Hans interrupted, leaning against the back of the bench and gazing with equal consternation at Elsa. "You've never read _Harry Potter_? My parents think magic is the work of Satan and _they've _read it."

"I've just… Never got round to it," Elsa said, questioning herself on how such an apparent phenomenon had by-passed her completely. Surely there had been at least one copy in the family library, and Elsa had practically spent her adolescence in there.

Anna and Hans couldn't comprehend this accidental ignorance, their faces aghast at the thought that someone had missed out on a story they tried to explain encompassed nearly everything about humanity and belonging and the battle of morals. Anna even spent at least five minutes trying to describe how a character called Weasley reminded her of Kristoff. Even Olaf chimed in with a comment on how Elsa's life was not complete until she knew about this 'Hogwarts' place. In the end, Elsa just had to wait for them to exhaust themselves with long references to what she now knew was a series. Eventually, Anna caught herself on the fourth time she was saying just how brilliant it would be to have magic powers.

"Shall we get to the snowman, then?" Kristoff reminded them once they had finished ruining all the twists for Elsa.

"Yes!" Anna abruptly agreed, running as fast a she could through the snow to an open area and beginning to collect a pile of white powder. "We're going to have to wait for Snow Quidditch anyway. Hans? When's your friend arriving?"

Hans glanced at his Rolex in bemusement, although he was apparently unable to gather any answer from this. "I'm not sure. Not even sure if she's coming. She said she'd get here when she gets here."

"Who's this?" Kristoff asked, pouring himself a mug of coffee and standing beside Elsa.

"Hmm?" Hans hummed in question before actually processing the words. "Oh, a girl who's doing work experience at the company. _My _company, not the Noble Corporation. Her family live abroad and we could only fit her in over the Christmas break because her college course is pretty demanding. I just thought she'd like the company really. It's never fun to be by yourself during the holidays."

Elsa had the distinct impression that Hans was sympathising with her, having experienced more than her fair share of Christmas Days by herself. Since moving to Norway, she hadn't felt worthy enough to face anyone during yuletide given she had missed her parents' last Christmas. Part of her was determined to change that this year, although she was yet to make any plans. As far as she knew, Olaf and Kristoff were by themselves as well. Ideally, Anna would be equally aimless, but could just as easily be spending the day with Hans. Perhaps, just perhaps, she might be able to stomach a Christmas with someone she strongly disliked in childhood and invite everyone to the Noble Estate. She'd already given the staff the day off, but how hard could it be to cook a roast dinner?

However, a stray thought brushed across Elsa's mind which gave her some reason to question Hans' identity. Over the last few months he had been making an increasing impact in her life, mainly due to his association with Anna. But there was also the fact he had slowly but surely made his way into the strange group of friends which constituted of herself, Kristoff and Olaf. He had been there for Prince Naveen's ball, made an appearance at Marshall's reception party and had even taken Olaf to a bar during the first weeks after the Riverside tragedy. As Elsa understood, Anna had urged her boyfriend to extend compassion to Olaf even if he didn't know why. It was safe to say that Hans was cemented in the public social group Elsa had constructed.

But where were _his _friends?

Not once had Hans mentioned other people his age in any meaningful way. He never told any fond stories of teenage exploits or referenced an inside joke or even breathed a name Elsa was not familiar with. It could have easily been that, in as large a family as the Westerguards, his brothers substituted for this company. Yet he rarely ever spoke about his twelve older siblings or his parents, for that matter, without hinting at an underlying tension which drove him away.

There were no reasons Elsa could think of for why this should be. Surely Hans hadn't maintained an exclusive friendship with her sister for all this time? There had to be someone else. Although he spoke of lonely Christmases so convincingly, Elsa found herself believing him.

"Elsa!" Anna called from roughly twenty feet away, abruptly yanking Elsa back into the present. "Come on! I've got the base sorted! Twenty bucks says the girls can make a better snowman than the boys!"

* * *

In the end, after a decent hour of watching Anna struggle to carve the snow, they had completed a very fine looking snowman if Elsa said so herself. And she hadn't given in to that quiet temptation to cheat once. Well, not that their opposition or her teammate were aware of. Elsa had wanted Anna to win so badly that she just may have used her powers to create a sturdier set of feet to support their liminal labour of art. Of course, should Kristoff compare the erect structure of the Nobles' squat, smiling statue to the one Olaf and Hans were struggling to keep upright he probably would have figured out the truth.

Nevertheless, Elsa and Anna were well into decorating their snowman before the opposing teams had finished outlining their creations. The women had chosen a far more basic shape than the ambitious, human-like frames the men had attempted. Typically, the Noble entry had a long head dotted with coal speckled eyes and a smile, then a short chest followed by a bulbous lower section which sat on two stumpy legs. From a nearby tree, Anna had found two of the most perfect three-pronged twigs to serve as the arms and the child-sized figure was completed with a blue scarf wrapped around its neck.

"From certain angles," Kristoff observed whilst he swept his gloved hands masterfully down the tall column of snow he had collected, shaving off sections of it in the process. "Yours looks kinda like a compressed version of Olaf."

Apparently Anna could see what he meant, and she immediately barged back through the still thick snow-drifts to a fallen branch. From this, she managed to find three short twigs which were quickly snapped off and returned to the Snow-Olaf's head. When Elsa studied it again, she could now see the resemblance as the new sticks in the scalp represented Olaf's customary cowlicks. Even the imitated original saw the similarity and laughed heartily at the spectacle, in turn fuelling Anna's satisfied expression.

Dropping to her knees, Elsa knelt behind the Snow-Olaf and waggles the stick arms as if it were alive.

"Hi, I'm Olaf!" Elsa said in her best reproduction of her friend's voice. "And I like warm hugs!"

"I'd be insulted," The real Olaf said to Hans. "But it's true."

Continuing the masquerade, Anna skidded onto her knees and wrapped the Snow-Olaf in a hug. Elsa paused where she was, with her hands guiding the snowman's arms and the bulk of snow sitting between her and her sister. For a few moments she felt conflicted, remembering long-gone days of doing this exact activity with Anna in the ballroom of the Noble Estate before the accident. Such a thought should normally terrify her, but Elsa realised she did not feel any of the terror she thought she should have. Instead, she had fallen into this position in such a way that she hadn't realised what was happening. And she felt fine. Hopeful, even. Gently, Elsa positioned the stick arms so that it appeared they were hugging Anna back.

"Well, I think we've failed," Hans declared in a good-natured manner once he saw Kristoff step away from the independent offering. "Where on earth did you learn to do _that_?"

It was obvious why Hans was so accepting of his defeat when Elsa spotted the sudden transformation of the pillar of snow Kristoff had spent the previous collecting. With a dexterity no one had known he possessed, Kristoff had cut away excesses of snow until roughly straight lines became smooth curves and the curves combined into a shape which could be interpreted as abstract art. As a midway point, it was evident the snowman was in fact a snowwoman and, had it been carved in granite, could have sold for a fair sum of money. The rounded shoulders, the modest bust and tell-tale hips confirmed what it was meant to be, even if it could be criticised as an over-indulgent idealisation of what a woman looked like. Of course, it was also missing arms, a head and its legs melded into the ground. Although, as Elsa slowly made an appreciative lap around the snowwoman she couldn't help but spot the similarities in the shape of the slender figure and Anna's shape. All artists drew inspiration from something.

"I have dual-citizenship," Kristoff confessed, slightly embarrassed when he saw the impact of the construct. "My father was Canadian and I lived north of Montréal until I was thirteen. And until I moved here I wanted to be a sculptor."

"And you practiced on snowmen?" Anna sceptically asked.

"Have you been to Canada in the winter? It was my most abundant material," Kristoff laughed. "In a sad way, ice is my life."

All five took a moment to appreciate the complexity of a simple form before Hans broke the silence.

"Well to the victor goes the spoils," He commented, unfurling a damp twenty dollars from his snow-wetted back pocket and offering it Kristoff, who begrudgingly accepted it. "And, while I remember, why don't you come to a little soirée I'm hosting tomorrow?"

The Westerguard Christmas Gala was notorious among those who could afford the tickets. It was an annual festive gathering designed to generate a large charitable income using an auction and a phenomenal fee for the dinner itself. News of such a gathering had been whispered throughout the upper classes for the past few weeks. Indeed, Elsa had received a complimentary ticket from Hans a month prior to this mention and had planned to respectfully decline, but had sadly put this off for too long now. The best she could hope for was to endure the dinner, buy the first item up for auction and leave as soon as possible.

Although if she had Kristoff for company, the evening could yet be salvaged.

"Yeah! You should come!" Anna heartily agreed, barrelling through the snow to join Hans. "I'm surprised Elsa didn't invite you as her plus-one."

Kristoff raised an eyebrow at the shorter woman, then glanced towards Elsa in question.

"Well, I'd be honoured to come," He began with an uneasy smile of humility. "But unfortunately I'm on a night patrol tomorrow and can't make it."

"Nonsense," Hans eagerly argued, slapping an arm around Kristoff's shoulder in an overly familiar manner. "I'll call in a favour with Eric. He said he owed me one after donating new firearms to the force."

"You'll be doing well to contact him," Kristoff pointed out as if he were grasping as loose threads of polite reasons for why he couldn't attend a high-class party. "Captain Latimer went on holiday a week ago and literally no one has been able to reach him. We're beginning to worry he's disappeared."

Hans furrowed his eyebrows to a possibly comical extent, and was about to respond when a flurry of heavy snowballs barraged into him, Anna and Kristoff from point behind Elsa and Olaf. These latter two swung around warily, with Elsa striking a defensive, ready-to-fight stance out of a recently developed habit. However, she was surprised to see their attacker was a short woman with a small grin on a face that Elsa just knew was used to scowling.

"I thought you said there was going to be a snowball fight, Mr Westerguard." The woman said with a decidedly west-coast accent.

"There's too much violence in this city involving snow already," Hans commented, wiping the remaining powder off his face and making sure Anna was alright before resuming. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to my Christmas intern, Leiko Tanaka."

Leiko Tanaka was definitely not what Elsa had been expecting when she was first mentioned. Instead of the disciplined, quiet and polite student envisioned (based on what Elsa and Olaf had seen at university) Tanaka was brash and unafraid of butting heads, as was clear by her entrance. She appeared almost exactly how Elsa would envision such a description; as Tanaka stood there in a leather jacket and fingerless gloves, forgoing all other protection against the elements to show off the purple streak in her dark hair and make it clear that not even nature was the boss of her.

"Hey," Tanaka said, nodding at the assembled group and looking each of them over one-by-one. It was thankful that she didn't even seem to care about the status many of Arendelle's populace commented on whenever they saw Anna or Elsa, although this may be due to her association with Hans. 'Friendship' seemed too personal for a woman like this. "Enjoying the snow?"

"Hi!" Anna greeted, bouncing forward to hug the new arrival or shake her hand or high-five, then hanging awkwardly when it became evident Tanaka was not going to reciprocate the motion. "Yeah, we've been building snowmen. Sorry, I'm Anna."

"I know who you are, I haven't been living in a cave," Tanaka rather snidely remarked, whether intentional or not. She cocked her head towards Elsa and met her eyes. "And you're Elsa Noble. My friend buys your drugs."

"As a prescription, I hope," Kristoff chimed, receiving a slightly disgruntled look from Tanaka as a result. "I'm Kristoff Bjorgman. I'm a cop."

"Ah," Tanaka replied, before gesturing to the feminine sculpture behind him. "Nice girlfriend. Build her yourself?"

So far, Leiko Tanaka was failing to make a good impression on any of them despite their attempts to start civil conversations. She looked as if she'd rather be anywhere other than a park in Arendelle. Although, as Elsa reasoned, she had made an appearance. Therefore, Tanaka must have come for some form of human contact.

"So what are you doing at Westerguard Industries?" Elsa dipped a toe into the apparent simmering pool of this introduction, wondering whether there was anything the shorter woman did not have an automatic response to.

"A winter internship. It's the only place to work with mag-lev technology and that's my main area of expertise," Tanaka explained with a reserved amount of passion. "I would have gone to an institute in Seoul, but that would involve living with my grandmother for a few months and it seemed less stressful to come here."

That explanation took Elsa by surprise. It was perhaps the longest dialogue any of them imagined they could form with this surprisingly difficult student, although, at a push, Elsa could understand why Tanaka may have some reservations about conversing openly with strangers.

"Anyway, are we having this snowball war or what?" Tanaka brushed all the formalities aside, revealing her enthusiasm for a playful fight which could leave them all bruised and soaking if the woman could throw snowballs like she had demonstrated consistently.

"Yeah, I guess we are," Hans said unsurely, counting out the numbers. "Let's make it interesting. We'll have Kristoff, Anna and Leiko on one team, and Elsa, Olaf and I on the other."

It was a strange set-up, as Elsa would have expected Hans to immediately side with his girlfriend. Although, the discrete nod of approval she saw being passed from Anna to Hans made her realise this was a deliberate move. Anna wanted her to bond with the Westerguard, a man Elsa could never quite figure out how she felt about. If Hans was going to be a mainstay in their lives now, Elsa guessed she would just have to find a way to put up with him. Although it was hard, given that whenever she looked at him she was exactly on eye-level with a tiny sliver of bald skin in his right sideburn.

"Great!" Tanaka exclaimed, completely devoid of emotion. "Let's go build a fort."

Obediently, if nervously, Kristoff and Anna followed in companionable silence; leaving the remaining three to plan their attack and defence. After a short discussion, it was decided than Hans would drag together as much snow as he could to make a protective hillock whilst Elsa and Olaf focussed on producing as many snowballs as possible. Fortunately, this was a job Elsa could more or less cheat at in a small way.

"So Olaf, do you want to come tomorrow as well?" Hans asked after a few moments of quiet. Apparently he had taken it as a certainty that Kristoff would be attending the Gala. "There are a few spare seats, and I can always make another last minute order."

Olaf thought about it for a few moments, and seemed genuinely tempted before he remembered another obligation he had.

"Sorry, I can't," He answered sadly, torn between having fun and performing a self-assigned duty. "I've got to update the anti-virus software across the company tomorrow night. It's easiest to do it when none of the computers are in use and we've been putting it off long enough."

In reality, that particular job had been done remotely from the Ice Palace on Friday night. Instead, Olaf had planned to start a new algorithm to find any wider and more loosely connected information on the White Knight, and he intended to sit by the computer in the hopes that something would turn up. It was probably an unhealthy thing to do, but Elsa could not disagree with the plan. And Hans could not find fault in the lie once he realised that it would be the head of the IT department and not Elsa who could give Olaf the night off.

"That's a shame. We'll have to do something else some time," Hans commented sincerely, quickly rounding on Elsa. "And are you coming? I didn't get a reply but Anna's ordered your food anyway."

"Erm, well I'm not sure," Elsa tentatively tried to worm her way out of the obligation. It was not her kind of get-together and it was probably going to be a busy night for the Snow Queen tomorrow. "I've got lot of paperwork to catch up on. Plus I'll feel like a third-wheel if it's you and Anna. I'm not sure Kristoff will go either, he hasn't got a suit."

Hans laughed at her reasoning, a hearty chuckle which was oddly reassuring although it did nothing to endear him to Elsa.

"Oh no, you won't be a third wheel," He assured, patting Elsa on the shoulder with humour. "No, there'll be other people. I think Belle Bisous is attending in place of the Mayor. Anna said you got on well with her."

That was true. Since their first meeting three months ago, Elsa and Belle had become rather strong friends. It was the one leisure Elsa would indulge herself in when not being the Snow Queen, the CEO or seeing Anna. In fact, the pair would meet up on their lunch breaks at least three times a week to discuss books, politics and as much gossip as Elsa could stand. She almost felt that Belle was a more confident version of herself, and if the brunette was attending than Elsa would probably find a decent conversation after all.

She was about to answer when a pellet of compacted snow caught her on the nose and Tanaka gave a whoop of success.

* * *

The very next night, the street on which the Lumiere Hotel was located had been cordoned off. This was not for a criminal reason or as a result of the weather. Indeed, the road had been specifically cleared with the intention of allowing only a select few vehicles through to ease the arrival of the guests. Despite these measures, there was still an inordinately long queue of near-identical black cars waiting for their chance to deposit the occupants on the specially placed red carpet and allow a new automobile to take its place. As Elsa straightened in the backseat, she tried to discern the reason why this did not happen.

It seemed that the only reason this waste of time was occurring, and subsequently disrupting the traffic on the open streets across Arendelle, was because a few business tycoons and wannabe celebrities were making a show of climbing out of their cars for the small huddle of paparazzi which had gathered.

"Come on, come on." Elsa hissed through gritted teeth, slumping back in her seat with a particular care to make sure her dress did not crumple. She desperately wanted to just get into the Westerguard Ball, make a few donations and a large enough public appearance before leaving again. There was no other reason for her to be there, seeing as Anna would be preoccupied with Hans. The only silver lining was the presence of Belle Bisous.

Kristoff patiently waited beside her, tugging at the cuffs of his dress shirt almost curiously. Thanks to a cosmic coincidence Kristoff was only a few fractions of an inch too tall for her father's old tuxedo. And with a quick alteration by the family tailor it was in style enough to not bring about a fashion faux pas which could lose the Noble Corporation vain points of favour from other companies.

From his expression, Kristoff looked largely bewildered by his current situation. In all his life he had never expected to be attending the black tie events of the socially elite. He was well aware that there was a large number of etiquette protocols which he could unknowingly break. But he was thankfully remaining calm for the moment, understanding completely that he was only there to fill a social expectation for Elsa. In fact, he had realised he was mainly there just to support Elsa in a friendly capacity.

"Did patience never come up in your studies?" Kristoff asked, half-interest but mostly intending to distract Elsa from her growing lists of worst case scenarios.

"Not at university, no. My mind was on other things," Elsa admitted after a pause of consideration out of the window. "But I did read _The Analects_ when I was twelve. Confucius had a lot to say on patience."

"Such as?" Kristoff queried.

"I don't know," Elsa confessed, a strange smile ghosting her lips. Then she giggled slightly. "I've forgotten. There was probably quite a lot to recommend learning rather than violence. Looks like that went out the window when…" She froze briefly when she realised Kai was sat well within earshot at the steering wheel. "I started doing Tae Kwon Do."

"I wouldn't say that," Kristoff reasoned, not entirely sure whether Elsa's realisation was a symptom of internalised loathing or a bizarre essence of freedom. "I think you've learnt quite a lot. More about 'real life', anyway."

Elsa found it very hard to believe she was really sampling real life from her outings as the Snow Queen. When she donned the cowl every night, she preferred to think she was just experiencing the worst side of society rather than the total. After all, in a crime there had to be at least two components; the less-than-moral one who committed the act and the neutral or positive side which was harmed as a result.

Then again, a lifetime of harshly criticising her own thoughts led Elsa to think that maybe her friend was right. Because, having seen the kind of people in Arendelle who usually resorted to illicit means of supporting themselves, she couldn't help but think that the crime was the result of poor business and social awareness on the part of the upper classes. Weselton's laissez-faire had rather obviously been ruthless in cutting out small businesses and the sources of income these gave to the moderate-entrepreneurs. If this were the case, then the Snow Queen may not be teaching her as much as Kristoff might presume. The answer would lie in Elsa pushing further for the Noble Corporation to take responsibility.

"So do you remember anything Confusion said?" Kristoff interrupted, unnerved by how long his 'date' had been silent.

"_Confucius," _Elsa corrected, thinking over everything she could attribute to the teacher of many ancient proverbs. To her delight, at least one remained. "And he said 'to be fond of something is better than to merely to know it, and to find joy in it is better than to merely be fond of it'."

Kristoff gave this statement some thought.

"You're quite fond of Anna, aren't you?" He probed, well aware that Elsa would be able to see through his argument in a matter of moments.

"She's my sister," Elsa replied with an appreciatively sly grin grasping her jaw. "Why? Aren't you fond of her?"

The police officer almost froze, eyes wide under Elsa's amused gaze. It took him a few minutes to regain his train of thought after she had prompted him onto a slightly different topic. Certainly one that shouldn't be addressed right now, on the way to Hans' party.

"She's your sister, you're my friend," Kristoff unconvincingly confirmed, trying to imply that such thoughts had not crossed his mind. "But you _are_ fond of her. Although I don't think you allow yourself to find joy in her. Not very often, anyway. Which is a shame."

Elsa's gaze hardened, not in anger but in the old fear which tormented her frequently.

"It's for her own good." Elsa tried to argue, with an equally convincing voice.

"And yours?" Kristoff gently pressed, laying one hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "What's the worst that could happen? If you told her everything, she might be more accepting than you believe."

"Anna may also," She whispered, leaning in close. "Put herself in more danger than she has already. After Rapunzel, I don't want anyone in my family becoming involved."

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong," Kristoff pointed out in a challenging voice. "But _you _got involved in this because she was abducted. And I think if she knew the truth, if you explained everything, that might help her stay safe. But that's just my opinion."

The car calmly lurched forwards as the queue shimmied down the street, while Elsa remained as still as an ice sculpture until the little bit of unexpected acceleration ground to a halt.

"I'll think about it," Elsa conceded, twisting back in her seat to face the front of the car. She didn't particularly want to look at Kristoff when she continued speaking. "You do know it's alright if you do find joy in Anna? I wouldn't stand in your way."

Nothing else was said until they eventually got out of the car a quarter of an hour later, as they prepared to spend an evening with the one person who did stand in Kristoff's way.

* * *

From beyond the end of the empty alley behind the Westerguard Tower, the steady movement and infrequent echoes of car horns could be heard. It seemed the Christmas season had caused many people to stay out later than usual, contributing further as many local residents crossed through the business hub from the retail district in the direction of the yuletide market which had been erected outside town hall. The hustle and bustle of consumerism may not subside until the small hours. Which was good for the purposes of the experiment.

As Leiko Tanaka dragged the skin-tight glove across her palm, she listened out for any footsteps traveling toward her. There were none. It was unlikely that anyone could even see her through the heavy snowfall, which wetted her glove within moments of it being exposed. Hopefully the frost would not build-up too much, as the pure blankness would ruin the use of the purposely painted black armour she had donned. A fiasco of discovery like the one in San Francisco would not be welcome.

But the risk was also necessary. Tanaka needed to see how her 'project' would fare against terrains and weather patterns that could not be found on the west coast, and tonight promised the perfect conditions without diving into the extremes. It would be far better to discover a deficiency in the wheel's grip without breaking a few bones or potentially dying. Of course, this threat was only possible if she reached a certain threshold of speed. Otherwise the carbon-fibre suit would protect her.

Happy that both her gloves were tight against her fingers, Tanaka pulled the helmet over her dampening hair; the purple streak more or less darkened into the rest of her deep black locks. The chill which pinched her ears faded while the padding one of her friends had designed did not limit her hearing to any extent. There was just one more matter to attend to before beginning.

"This is Leiko Tanaka, suit test number one," She said clearly after dropping the visor and activating the in-helmet camera. "Site is Arendelle City. Aim is to remain upright throughout the journey in a snowy environment. Wheel depth remains the same as previous tests."

For the purposes of gaining her balance, Tanaka grabbed the edge of the nearest dumpster and stood between two lightweight metal plates she had methodically placed there earlier. With a flick of her wrist, she heard the battery pack in her back armour power up. Seconds later the power reached the electromagnets on her boots.

All at once, the two plates ricocheted to attention; standing on their rims a mere inch away from Tanaka's ankles. Slowly, she felt herself rise off the ground until only her toes would scrap the concrete if she reached hard enough. To the outside observer she would look ridiculous, seeing as she was suspended a few inches away from the earth and marginally unsteady.

Testing the traction, Tanaka pushed herself away from the dumpster gently but instead immediately fell onto her helmet. She took a few moments to shake off the diminished blow and allowed herself to hiss in pain as she rolled one wrist to ease the pain. Obviously gauntlets would be required for the next trail run.

Nevertheless, she carefully pushed herself back into an upright position. Once she was satisfied that she had balance, Tanaka took a deep breath and visualised what she wanted to do. It was always much easier to go through with an act when one knew exactly what they were trying to achieve. And so, paying attention to the limited friction the alley provided, Leiko Tanaka kicked off to role in the direction of the busy road.

* * *

The ballroom of the six-star hotel was abuzz with the sound of music and chatter and glasses clinking together in a myriad of black suits interspersed with the festive colours of the ladies' dresses. Dinner had been a triumph of aristocracy-level complexity combined with the standard undersized portions, although no one complained at this and instead marvelled at the rich red wine gravy or the simply _exquisite_ truffles or even how the pork was so tender people could lay down their lives for it. To prolong the interval of the meal and the auction, the two-hundred or so guests had taken to the dancefloor to merely sway in a manner which would suggest they knew how to dance, but had never practiced enough. Thankfully, the DJ for the night had chosen to play Shakin' Stevens to reduce the inherent awkwardness of such a herd movement.

Anna, of course, was in her element. The combination of wine and music and people had brought out her regular excitement, so it was no surprise to see her disrupting the carefully constructed cultured façade of the rich with lively motions which did not match the tempo. It made Elsa smile to see Hans trying to combine his responsibilities as host and as boyfriend in keeping up with her in a dignified manner. He had turned as red as his hair under the looking-without-looking disapproval of his guests.

Fortunately, the rush to make an appearance on the floor had left Elsa and Kristoff with adequate space to stand back and watch with bewildered disgust. Did all these people really think that a few nights of merriment a year and the casually throwing-around of their wealth was going to solve the problems of Arendelle? Such frivolous stupidity would not even make a dent in the difference between these people and the ones who were eking out an existence in the Mountains. To even assume so was to have ideals even children would not accept.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Elsa somewhat sarcastically asked Kristoff whilst she pretended to pick a bit of lint off her glove.

"I- I don't know…" Kristoff stammered, his face contorted in confusion. "Is- Is this real? This is actually happening, isn't it?"

"Yep," Confirmation of this scene did not even warrant a proper, English reply which would be typical of Elsa in this scenario. "Why? Did you think this only happened in Fitzgerald books?"

"Pretty much," It seemed Kristoff was having trouble voicing what exactly was bothering him about the aesthetic extravagance of charity. "It's just… When I was growing up we didn't even have a television until I was fourteen. And all of these people paid a ridiculous sum of money to have a small dinner and pretend they're helping. This should be a good thing, but it fells… Wrong."

"Personally, I think it's patronising," Elsa agreed, leaning back into her chair slightly. "Higher taxation or investment into college tuitions would be far better than sporadic fundraisers. And Goddard thinks that _this_ is better than a fund which takes up less than five-percent of our quarterly profits. Look at him!"

Across the room, a few degrees to the right of Anna's bobbing head, was Goddard. So far tonight he had boasted about paying double for his ticket to the Gala and then proceeded to obviously over tip the waitresses. His dancing matched his method of business, with an extra dashing of objectification as he mercilessly ogled any passing woman at least twenty years younger than him.

"There are actually less people here than I expected," Kristoff commented counting the guests out in his head. "Where are Hans' family? I thought this was their ball."

"Fewer people," Elsa couldn't help but correct, preferring to study the remaining menus and calculate how much each dish would cost. "This is just one of fourteen Westerguard balls. All the sons are managing different offices across the country, and his parents will have the most show-boaty of all in the Southern Isles."

"The Southern Isles? I've never heard of them." Her pretend date admitted.

"No surprise there," Elsa muttered, striking him with an exasperated gaze as she explained the significance. "The Southern Isles are private islands sold to the rich in the Gulf of Mexico. I swear, the Westerguards must own an entire archipelago."

"And Hans came to _Arendelle_?" His scepticism was understandable, since the city only housed two major cities and the nearest site which would be interested in purchasing Westerguard Industries' weapons was in the next state.

"Apparently he _begged_ to come here, and his father let him. The baby of the family couldn't do much damage out here." Elsa was prepared to go on, but was interrupted by a sudden gentle tap on her shoulder.

She turned quickly, hoping it wasn't anyone who would report her conversation to the host in the interests of gossip. Fortunately, it was only Ernest Pabbie, a face she hadn't seen outside of the Noble Corporation in a few weeks. Like Elsa and Kristoff he appeared extremely uncomfortable in this setting, but had apparently done a better job of blending into the background. Indeed, neither of them knew he had been there throughout dinner. Perhaps Hans had caught onto the animosity between Pabbie and Elsa, so had sat them apart out of courtesy.

"Elsa," He greeted warmly, despite having not said a word directly to her since his departing rant from the Ice Palace. "And Kristoff. I did not expect to see you here tonight. I would have thought your hobby would demand your attention instead."

"Even queens can have nights off, Pabbie." Kristoff answered amiably, himself having nothing against the stone-skinned old man.

"I should hope so," Pabbie answered, giving Elsa a pointed look. "I couldn't help but see that the Snow Queen prevented arson in the Mountains, then stopped a riot the next night and teach an abusive husband a lesson. All in a week. Does she ever stop?"

"Not while something can be done," Elsa harshly responded, quietly outraged that Pabbie thought he could lecture her after he had more or less renounced his role in the team. "Unlike _some people_ who are willing to take the least effective method of saving a young girl on the operating table."

"The other option was very dangerous," Pabbie defended half-heartedly, before relaxing his shoulders. "I admit I was wrong in that case. She was very helpful during the Marshmallow crisis. How is Rapunzel?"

That was a whole different mystery. Since her return to Corona, there had been very limited word on what Rapunzel was doing. For all Elsa knew her cousin was back under Gothel's thumb and living in relative isolation. But with the potential Rapunzel held, she actually hoped the younger woman would break free. There was still one ally in Corona Elsa could call on, and she might just do so to find out what was happening.

"She's good," Elsa simply replied. "I presume you were the one who sent her to help. It definitely wasn't Kristoff or Olaf, and you're the only other person who knows where we keep the 'spandex'."

"She came for my help earlier that day," Pabbie admitted without shame. "And when I saw what you were facing, I thought she would be the most equipped."

Elsa couldn't argue there. If Rapunzel hadn't been present, she would have been unable to show Marshall the mercy he so sorely needed.

"Well, I can see you two are busy," Pabbie commented for no apparent reason, although it was clear he intended to depart before the auction began. "So I best be wishing you a pleasant evening and, if I don't see you again, have a Merry Christmas."

They both echoed 'Merry Christmas' back, although Elsa withheld any of the true affection she would have normally given Pabbie. The encounter had set her on a new train of thought concerning the event her old friend had inappropriately referred to as the 'Marshmallow crisis'. This was not the first time she had thought about the circumstances which caused Marshall's transformation, and how practically no one had any idea what FRZ-52 could do. It was certainly not Elsa who would inflict that fate on a person, and the only other living person who knew was Pabbie. Was it possible it was connected?

Her reverie was untimely shattered by the second visitor in as many minutes, as Elsa automatically snapped to attention when Anna bounded into the quiet corner of the ballroom.

"There you guys are!" Anna exclaimed, her face flushed and cheeks rosy. "Why aren't you dancing?"

Kristoff turned to Elsa for guidance on an explanation Anna would believe, leaving the elder sister to smile shyly and give the one excuse she could muster.

"I can't dance," Elsa lied. In actuality, her years of learning martial arts had actually given her the fluidity and timing required to make a decent dancer. "And I'd like to save Kristoff the embarrassment."

The smile on Anna's face did not falter, but she remained motionless as if waiting for a further reason that could prevent Elsa from getting up.

"Have you seen this?" Anna asked, motioning to the slowly rotating crowd of people. "No one can dance! Come on! No one will notice."

"Please Anna," Elsa pleaded, dreading actually having to get up and interact these people she only shared a tax-bracket with. "I'm… I'm waiting for a friend."

"Okay…" It seemed Anna did not quite understand Elsa's meaning for moment, as her eyes swivelled to Kristoff sitting next to them. But then recognition flashed across her face and her excitement resumed. "Oh! You mean Belle? She's in the opposite corner, by the speakers."

Elsa was on her feet faster than she would have liked to acknowledge, although Kristoff was not far behind her to mask the sudden attention.

"Ah, I've been trying to find her all night," Elsa calmly answered, despite feeling a strange amount of nerves at seeing Belle Bisous again. "I hope you don't mind if I go catch up with her first."

"No, I don't mind," Anna replied, latching onto Kristoff's arm eagerly just as the music changed to _Shut Up and Dance_. "If you don't mind me borrowing 'handsome' over here for a few minutes."

Without saying anything else, Anna pranced back into the crowd of dancers with Kristoff in tow. It was almost worth laughing at the police officer's surprised face, however Elsa knew he would enjoy himself. She reasoned it must be good for him to spend some time with a person happier than herself, and Anna would do more than cheer him up.

It didn't take Elsa long to spot Belle once she had skirted along the wall of the ballroom. By unfortunate coincidence, they must have settled themselves on exact opposite sides of the room in just the right spot that they couldn't see each other. Of course, rather than wait in melancholic analysis of the social suitability of a gala, Belle had chosen to enjoy herself and gently dance by herself to the thumping noise. She soon stopped once she spotted Elsa's approach, and it made the blonde extremely happy to see Belle's eyes light up.

"Miss Noble! I was wondering if I'd see you!" Belle called over the music, a factor which caused her to drag Elsa just behind a speaker so they could hear each other properly.

"Sorry, I got distracted during dinner and got in here after everyone else," Elsa apologised, feeling unnerved by the proximity of the major business icons of the state to this more personal conversation. "Have you been enjoying yourself?"

"I think so," Belle honestly answered. "This is the first time I've ever been to a party like this, so I'm not sure if this is the way these Galas normally play out."

"To be honest, I'm not sure either," Elsa confessed, grinning slightly. "I only came because one of my friends, you and Anna would be here."

"Oh really? You didn't come to give to charity?" Belle playfully admonished, smirking at Elsa's fallacy. "Shame on you! I suppose you'll just have to work harder on the Noble Trust Fund," It appeared to both of them that the entire congregation of guests had shuffled closer to their private corner, as if trying to eavesdrop on them. "Hey, do you want to go somewhere else to talk? I think the bar's open."

"Of course." Elsa responded instantly, having been uncomfortable ever since she dived in to locate Belle.

It was unfortunately just as they were beginning to press back through the air-tight collection of finely dressed people that the music faded out and two spotlights focussed in on the makeshift stage beside the DJ. Elsa and Belle were naturally caught by this change and glanced over, to find that Hans had climbed into the yellowy circles with a microphone in hand. They both supposed they had better wait for whatever he was going to say to be said before finding a quieter spot.

"Hello everyone!" Hans said, his voice echoing from each corner of the room so that everyone could hear him. "I just want to thank you all for coming tonight. There are a number of organisations which simply wouldn't be able to continue the great work they're doing with the disadvantaged if it weren't for your donations tonight. So, please, give yourselves a round of applause."

A smattering of clapping hands erupted around the room, which Elsa felt compelled to join in with even in the knowledge that she had done more to help people than anyone present. Except maybe Anna and Kristoff, of course. This self-congratulatory mood persisted for a while until even Goddard sensed it was time to be silent again.

"Thank you!" Hans continued with a natural confidence that was rare to find. "Anyway, I've just been told that the auction room is now ready, so if you'd like to-…"

The microphone Hans was holding suddenly cut out as he was saying 'move into the next room', which was a great deal dimmer without the electronic echo. However, very few people heard Hans finish speaking as a new voice picked up directly where he left off. It was a voice Elsa recognised instantly, despite it being artificial, and one that made her skin crawl. Especially when she realised there was nothing she could do in this case.

"Stay exactly where you are," The disembodied voice of the White Knight ricocheted from the speakers, making a few people (notably Goddard) gasp in shock. "And this will be all over very quickly."

With an angry _snap_, the doors of the ballroom burst open and a small army of identically dressed thugs in black balaclavas, all armed with submachine guns, filed in with military precision. They marched around the circumference of the room, gradually boxing the screaming guests into the centre of the room. There was not even enough time for Elsa to grab Belle's hand and race out of the trap before the barrel of a gun was pointed in their direction and they were forced to remain on the very edge of the group of prisoners.

Recognising that she was defeated before she even started, Elsa turned back to face the stage with the feeling of anticipation. Having encountered the man, and observed his flair for the dramatics twice now, she had already figured out where he would spring from next.

And she was not disappointed.

While everyone had been distracted, the man Elsa had last seen fall into the river had appeared on the stage and was currently facing a pale-faced Hans with what could have been amusement. He paused for a moment, listening to Hans' sputtering and the horror of his hostages, then picked the Westerguard boy up by the collar and flung him in with the rest of his bounty.

"Quiet!" His digital voice said from each of the speakers, bringing the din to a deathly silence. "And we can begin. Do any of you know where I might find the Snow Queen?"

* * *

**Surprise! Hope that was worth the wait.**

**Please Review.**


	27. The Man in White - Part Two

**I guess you know how it is. You put something off for a day and suddenly it is four months later. But if I ever go this long without updating again, I give you all permission to inbox me relentlessly until I revive my writing skills. It's not like I'm doing much else these days.**

**Really enjoyed the responses to the last chapter. I'd been waiting from the start to do that cliff-hanger. May have been a bit of a longer wait than I planned. But some of the theories that emerged afterwards were great, to the point I kind of want to rewrite what I had planned. I promise that some mysteries will be solved by the end of this arc (which should be done just before series four of **_**Sherlock**_** airs).**

**At the same time, I can't believe only one person picked up on Leiko Tanaka. I suppose she does take a bit of a back seat to the White Knight thing, although I love it when someone makes a cameo (like King Louis, way back in the first chapter). **

**Anyway, thank you all for your patience and I hope normal services will resume shortly. Like I said: never let me pause this long again. Track me down and kick me if you have to. **

**Happy reading.**

* * *

A few storeys below the streets of the Mountains, Olaf stared bleary-eyed at the bright computer monitor and enjoyed the silence of the sealed hub. It was rare that the doors of the Ice Palace should be locked while someone was inside, seeing as barely anyone knew North Mount Street even had a station. But for tonight, when the Snow Queen was not working, it somehow felt more secure for Olaf to bolt the entrance and focus entirely on his new algorithm. The peace would give him a greater depth of analysis, possibly even better ideas for how to widen the search while keeping it specific. He certainly needed a new angle.

So far, in the three hours he had watched the multiple articles flash by before his eyes, nothing even remotely relating to the White Knight had appeared. No killings relating to roman swords, no accidental images in the background of tourist photographs, not even a viable combination of the words 'White Knight' relating to anything other than analysis of fairy tales. The man was a phantom in almost every sense of the word. He simply didn't exist. Olaf felt similarly to how Winston Smith must have, seeing as the only evidence of the White Knight existed in his memory. Without meeting him, Olaf wouldn't believe in the villain either.

But enough remained to drive him forwards. He owed it to Marshall to find this lunatic and bring him to justice. Maybe then the dark cloud which seemed to follow him around would disappear. Everything under it seemed to be cold, but there was a spark of hope that he could at least contribute to that inevitable ending.

With this end in mind, once the search had proven fruitless, Olaf instead turned to the old-fashioned method of finding information by searching increasingly vague combinations of terms he would apply to the Knight. It was actually far more difficult than he would admit to keep all the swearing out. And, as he had expected, tangible results remained elusive.

The White Knight could be right in front of them, and they would not see the wood for the trees. Indeed, the short list the three of them had concocted one evening became all the smaller when one applied rational thought.

One suggestion had been George Jones. The reasoning for this was that Elsa knew the lengths Jones would go to already, and their prior entanglement could explain why the Knight was so obsessed with the Snow Queen. However; no one had heard of George Jones since his arrest. Of course, this may be to Jones' advantage. But then there was also the facts that the Knight was considerably taller than Jones' reported height and the costumed scoundrel did not seem to have any difficulties with his right hand. Additionally, Kristoff had suggested Jones was already dead; an idea which lacked proof but was eerily felt to be true by both Olaf and Elsa.

The second person on the short list was Mayor Weselton. Evidence to incriminate him was even sparser. A skinny old man such as him surely did not have the physical strength to perform the feats the Knight did, while his physical stature was not even remotely comparable. The only reason Elsa suspected the Mayor was because he had a link to the first two, obviously pre-meditated crimes which could be attributed to the Knight's influence. Assuming the Knight was responsible for the Noble Tower Hostage Crisis and the attempt on Prince Naveen's life; then the presence of first his Aide and then himself at the respective events should not be overlooked. Unfortunately, there was no distinguishable relationship between the Freeway Massacre or the Snowman Rampage with the owl-eyed senior citizen.

Lastly, and to Olaf this was scraping the barrel of reasons, there was Hans Westerguard. This preposition had only been coxed out of Elsa after much encouragement to hear _any _more suggestions, and was quickly dismissed. After all, anyone who met Elsa knew she resented Hans on some level, although Olaf was surprised she would go _that _far in accusing him of murder. He was, firstly, their friend. He was a kind, charitable man who had served as Anna's rock during Elsa's commitments to protecting the streets. As far as they had heard, he was in support of the Snow Queen. In fact, the one thing Elsa could offer against Hans was the fact he had access to the weapons the White Knight would need. And any wealthy person could buy weapons of that calibre. Even Olaf could buy such high-quality offensive weapons if he chose to live underground like the White Knight.

Yet, when pressed for more reasons she could think Hans was the Knight; Elsa refused to say any more about it. And if Olaf knew her in any way, he was aware that meant she had another theory on Hans.

Regardless, exactly what the White Knight's endgame was remained vague. The team didn't know why or what he had stolen from Westerguard Industries, nor why he would perform such an unspeakable act on Marshall. It seemed he was simultaneously trying to antagonise them and bring them into the public light. In all manners of understanding, they were in the dark on the Knight's motives as well as the method to his madness, if there was one.

With a weary sigh, Olaf pushed the keyboard away from him after a further twenty minutes of fruitless searching. This was partly due to his frustration beginning to overwhelm him, but the alarm on his wrist watch had reminded him that it was time to honour his promise to Kristoff.

In the interests of handling his melancholy, Kristoff had recommended that Olaf take the time every day to call someone and catch up. The notion of this was that finding anyone to casually talk to would distract Olaf from his unhealthy thoughts, while also reminding him that life went on through other people. For the most part, it seemed therapeutic despite the fact it would sometimes take him a while to work up the nerve. Few people were aware of what had really become of Marshall. Most of his extended family, whom he would normally call, thought his older brother was simply missing and had only vanished after his visit to Olaf. Inevitably, his cousins and aunts and uncles would ask if any news had come to light, leaving Olaf to plummet back into full awareness of Marshall's death. He was also fairly sure most of his family were beginning to catch onto the fact Olaf knew more than he claimed, and he would probably have to avoid them for a while to cover up that fact.

So, figuring he may as well check in with his friend, Olaf dialled Elsa's number. When he glanced at the clock on his computer screen he became aware that Elsa and Kristoff had been gone for much longer than they had suggested. Perhaps, for once, Elsa was not mentally torturing herself over the failures that were out of her control and was able to enjoy the evening.

The dial tone thrummed once. Twice. Four times. Eight. Then it went to the automatic emotionless network recording asking for him to leave a message.

Knowing Elsa, Olaf didn't think anything of this and calmly swiped to Kristoff's number instead. But he only had time to listen to three dial tones before something that had never happened in the Ice Palace occurred.

_Clang. Clang. Clang._

Someone knocked at the door.

Olaf stared at the metal slab sealing him inside with shock and confusion written into his face. It only took him a few seconds to list through the possible identities of whoever stood outside before realising it was a complete stranger. Elsa and Kristoff knew the code to get in, as did Pabbie if he had wished to abruptly return. It could have been Anna, finally returning to her quest of locating the Snow Queen's base of operations, however to assume that would involve completely ignoring the fact she was at the Westerguard Christmas Ball. Maybe, Olaf briefly entertained, it was Rapunzel; returning from Corona on a whim to be free again. But only this morning had he read the news about a certain girl in purple making an appearance at a Corona department store. So that only left more menacing answers.

In theory, it could just any person walking down North Mount Street tonight. The snow could be so heavy as to force a homeless man into the nearest shelter, which could just so happen to have been the open entrance to the old station. Anyone could come across the old metal doors if they walked far enough down the tunnels. Unfortunately, Elsa had gone to great lengths to continue the masquerade of the station being an abandoned facility and nothing more. Indeed, from the outside the Ice Palace appeared neglected and in disrepair. So why would anyone try knocking?

_Clang. Clang. Clang-clang._

Olaf jumped to his feet, wishing now that they had installed a camera for the exterior corridors. Without such a precaution there was no way of knowing who could be outside. Someone impatient, certainly. But how on earth could Olaf decide if it was someone who needed help or someone who should be kept out at all costs? If the letter, there was no difficulty in doing this. Pabbie had said that the doors were designed to hold potentially dangerous pathogens within the facility in the event a quarantine was required. It was unlikely the surprise visitor could force their way in.

_Clang-clang. Clang. Clang._

Thinking about it, Olaf realised that forcing entry was probably not the aim of the visitor. After all, they were knocking. They were politely requesting that he answer them, even if the insistence was menacing. And it wasn't as if the front door was the only way into the Ice Palace. Flynn Rider had demonstrated how easy it was to enter through the subway tunnels, provided the quarantine gates were open and they were determined enough. Therefore, having swallowed down his initial fear, Olaf approached the door and slowly typed in the code which would release the bolts.

The _clack_ of the retreating locks was much louder than usual, and as the doors swung inwards there was a menacing _squeak_ which Olaf hadn't noticed until now. Even with these foreboding, adrenaline-fuelled noises he chose to squeeze his eyes shut until the entrance was fully open. He knew this would be foolish if the person on the other side did indeed turn out to have malicious intents, but after a few moments of absolute stillness he had to only open his eyes again in confusion.

No one was there.

For a brief minute, Olaf wondered whether the visitor was a harmless member of the public after all. Maybe they had left after having no response from the inside of the Ice Palace. Unfortunately, the roots of pessimism had burrowed into Olaf and he felt it necessary to double check before locking down again. And his distrustful voice of reasoning proved correct when he saw the small Christmas present lying on the threshold.

Taking the precaution of throwing a pen at it, Olaf quickly surmised that the box was not explosive. Even if it was, from its size it was unlikely to capable of much damage. It was also too light to be anything immediately deadly; given the impact of the pen was enough to shift the entire thing a few centimetres back. With this evaluation in mind and his curiosity piqued, Olaf leant forward and gingerly lifted the gift from the floor.

A visual inspection yielded nothing more, expected. The only indication leaving the present there was purposeful was found on the label, which read _Merry Christmas_ and nothing more. Otherwise all that could be said about it was the paper was decorated with baubles and the ribbon was silken.

Logically, the next step would be to unwrap to find out what was inside. However, the mystery was somewhat ruined when the muffled noise of a ringing phone started emanating from it. Bizarrely, the doctrine of courtesy Olaf had learnt all his life made him immediately anxious to answer and to this end he unceremoniously ripped the paper away and cut open the plain cardboard until he came face-to-face with the cheap flip phone packaged carefully among foam peanuts. He later supposed that it _could _have been a trap, and he was foolish to have been struck with the modern anxiety of accepting a call before it lapsed since it may have blown up in his face.

But no such outcome occurred when Olaf glanced at the blocked number before opening the dated plastic cover and tentatively saying; "Hello?"

The response was not immediate; instead being delayed to the point it almost seemed lazy. There was something artificial to its patterns of speech which was evident from the very short sentence they uttered, with the overall impression Olaf took being one of a languid, unperturbed and callous man. Of course, this impression could have been biased; seeing as Olaf instantly recognised the speaker with all the burning hatred that had been attributed to him over the last few weeks.

"_Good Evening, Mr Hansen." _The White Knight digitally whispered as if he were greeting a business associate.

Olaf's teeth gritted in rage. After all this time, all the searching and all of those sleepless nights; the White Knight had finally reached out. And, given the circumstances of this piece of contact, it could only mean something awful was afoot.

"Oh my God, it's you." Olaf half-breathed, too shocked to act on his tumbling tornado of emotions which grew rapidly through the pit of his stomach.

"_Yes, I thought you might say something like that. But may I say that it is a pleasure to speak again? Because it truly is." _The White Knight seemed to flick between boredom and delight, as if he were listening to the squirming of Olaf's guts or the clenching of his fists.

"You sick piece of crap!" Olaf found himself bellowing. This was the first time he had ever declared such a description of a person, although he later told himself that the Knight was not a person. Regardless, the fire was only stoked by his caller's laughter as he continued his tirade. "You killed my brother! I wish he had thrown a car onto you and stomped on the bits that remained!"

"_Oh, well, you might _say _that, however I'd like to point out that it was your friend who did the deed in the end-…"_

"You did most of the work." Olaf hissed loudly.

"…-_Speaking of your friend, I should perhaps move straight onto business," _The Knight seamlessly continued. Perhaps the Knight hadn't cared about what Olaf said, but it did strike him as odd that the man had not paused to listen or even skipped a beat in speaking. Beyond the obvious disguising of his voice, there was an oddly artificial quality to it. "_As you may or may not be aware, the Lumiere Hotel is hosting the annual Westerguard Christmas Ball. I do believe the Snow Queen herself is in attendance tonight. But what I think you would like to know is that I have sent in a legion of mercenaries to take the entire guest list hostage."_

That would explain why neither Elsa nor Kristoff had returned his calls, yet this admission confused Olaf by how blatantly delivered it had been.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked, unaware of any method to the Knight's new plan.

"_Because, believe it or not, I'm not evil," _The Knight replied to Olaf's snort of derision. "_And because this is not a situation I can lose in. I'm just interested in _who_ the Snow Queen is. She's not there in her sparkly spandex, yet I must admit I have no idea who she really is. So one of two things will happen tonight: either I bring the truth out into the open through force, or you… Entertain me."_

"Entertain you?"

"_Yes. As we speak, I have emailed the details of the DJ's computer to your work address. I have also not impeded your access to the city network, since I am a fair sport. What I want you to do Mr Hansen, or 'Olaf', seeing as we are well acquainted, is help your friend get out of the scenario I have created. Do you think you can do that, Olaf?"_

Hacking into the Lumiere security system would be a piece of cake. After all, Olaf had been breaking into computers for months now. But it was unlikely that he could direct Elsa in any way, other than giving her a few opportunities to take action without getting caught. Of course, the only alternative would be to allow the White Knight's plan to go ahead, and who knew what means he would employ to draw out the Snow Queen's identity. Certainly nothing good.

"What happens if I can? How would you win?" Olaf asked, not wanting to give a definite answer to the creep who had killed more than two dozen people in the last year.

However, the line broke at the precise moment Olaf finished speaking, becoming the third bizarre event in the conversation that took him by surprise. Evidently, there was no reason why he should trust the word of a mass-murderer, but the Knight had presented an atmosphere of cordial conversation throughout. Part of Olaf wondered whether the Knight had not been expecting such a response.

Nevertheless, there were more pressing problems to deal with at the moment. As promised, the Knight had sent Olaf the details of the DJ's computer, which he supposed must have been plugged into a sound system. This might be a handy tool if he needed to instruct Elsa in some manner. But it wasn't encouraging in taking out whatever the White Knight had devised.

First thing first, Olaf would have to see _what_ was happening if he had any chance of supporting his friends in any form. The Lumiere Hotel was one of the few public buildings in the city which he had not yet hacked the camera systems to, so it took him an extra couple of minutes to break through their surprisingly tough security before he was able to see inside. Naturally, the hotel had to balance privacy and safekeeping when it came to CCTV, meaning Olaf only had four cameras to view the situation and did not have a complete view of the room. Unfortunately, the corners were practically blind spots, as well as the back wall where the DJ would be sat. At least, when trying to find his positive spin, he was able to spot Elsa and Kristoff amongst the crowd that herded into the centre of the room.

Elsa was only standing about five metres from the west exit which led into the dining hall, whilst Kristoff was much closer to the centre of the room beside Anna. These were rather poor positions for anything other than camouflage, which would not allow Elsa to make any obvious actions without around one hundred eye-witnesses. Although she was on the fringe of the assembled hostages, about arm's length from the nearest thug toting a very large gun. Olaf wasn't versed in weaponry enough to know what kind.

An electronic bell chime from the wall screens distracted him for the few seconds it took for him to read and dismiss the news. Apparently there was some form of speedster racing between the cars near the Mountains. Olaf wasn't sure how big this 'speedster' was or how they were travelling at nearly eighty miles-per-hour through the traffic in quite a cramped part of the city, but at the moment he didn't really have the time to focus on questions.

He was too busy trying to find a solution to Elsa's problem.

* * *

So far they had been kept here for quarter of an hour, and the White Knight hadn't done a thing. This was a man whom Elsa essentially feared, standing not more than ten metres away, just calmly observing the huddled mass below him through that blank mask of his. Other than demanding to know where the Snow Queen was he had been silent, with his head slowly turning from side to side.

Surprisingly, the Knight's control of the ballroom seemed rather loose and half-hearted. All he had done was gather all the guests to the Ball, keep them under surveillance by a platoon of ape-like trigger heads and not let any of them leave. Elsa would have expected him to disallow talking altogether, although he made no move to punish the sources of the rather loud whispers which were circulating through the hostage circle. She also would have suspected further instructions to be issued, yet his conditions for the siege were not announced. It was almost as if the Knight didn't know what to do.

This theory was also backed up by his body language. From everything Elsa had seen of him, she had formed a vision of the White Knight being a disciplined, self-assured sociopath. He was certainly the kind of person to always have a plan. Yet as she watched him from her spot on the edge of the room it wasn't hard to that his knees were bent as if he was nervously ready to pounce and his shoulders were hunched forwards slightly. And, although it was impossible to know his expression under the blank helmet, Elsa wouldn't have been surprised if she found out his eyes weren't focussed on any particular object or person in front of him.

And then there was the sword. The Roman style of sword which, according to the historical descriptions of where it was kept, should have been on his right hip was now on his left. Elsa had only discovered this peculiar fact while gathering information that could possibly identify the Knight, but she saw how such an arrangement would have been beneficial for her foe when he had to fight in enclosed conditions. Indeed, she had witnessed how smoothly he had drawn the sword in a simple up-and-down motion when he had confronted her in the Riverside alleys. But now the sword was on the left hip.

She could see no reason why the Knight would change his practice. Perhaps he was going to scare the guests into submission by slashing the blade out in front of him when he drew it, although that seemed redundant given the hired muscle which surrounded them. Or maybe, in her tired state of mind at the time of their meeting in Riverside, she had failed to notice the Knight was actually left-handed. Or, and this hypothesis seemed the most likely, the man who stood on the stage was not the White Knight.

"What's he doing?" Belle semi-whispered into Elsa's ear as her mind came to this conclusion.

"Trying to draw out the Snow Queen," Elsa responded, resisting the urge to turn away from the Knight to speak to Belle properly. "But he's not doing a very good job."

Of course, the White Knight (a name which currently had a question mark attached to it) had known enough to find her. Unless it was mere coincidence that he was holding her at gunpoint in the sea of her financial peers, although the collected evidence suggested otherwise. As Elsa frequently had to tell herself, it was no accident that Marshall was chosen to be mutated or that Rapunzel was kidnapped. Although, the argument which kept creeping up in her mind against this was that the Knight may have only known Olaf was involved in her team due to his cyber-presence. Additionally, it may have been Rapunzel's link to Anna which had made her a target, since the redhead was known to be associated with the Snow Queen.

And Anna was also in the ballroom.

"In that case, he might be waiting for her to arrive," Belle considered, adding another line of reasoning to Elsa's analysis of the situation. "It must take her a while to first of all find out he's keeping us here and then get here from wherever she hides."

"I would have thought he'd be stricter than this, though." Elsa commented as she studied the guests again.

They were shuffling around now, moving slowly across the room to group with friends and business partners and spouses that may also be in attendance. The whispering was gradually rising in volume as well. And still the Knight wasn't saying anything against it. He paced the length of the dais slowly, tentatively, like a cat feeling its way along a branch before it pounced on a nest. But, as Elsa continued to observe him, not a fully-grown, natural hunter. It was similar to watching a kitten on its first attempt at slaughter.

The crowd was now confident enough to talk at a normal level, and Elsa was able to pick out different voices if she listened closely enough. Not too far behind her, she could hear Goddard mercilessly threatening an operator to dispatch the police. On her right, there was the call of Hans, telling everyone to remain calm and attempting to string together an offer with which to make the Knight go away (which ranged from the money raised, the goods in the auction, or the value of his private bank account). And if she focussed enough, through the din, Elsa could hear Kristoff and Anna arguing. Nothing distinct there, yet the voices gave their position away.

Taking a moment to account for her sister, Elsa turned to the centre of the crowd in an attempt to spot the redhead. Unfortunately; while Elsa's hearing was acute she was unable to glimpse much through the wall of bodies which divided the Noble siblings. Too many people were shoving, too many arms were waving and a foreign hand Elsa had not been aware she was holding yanked on her own.

"What about them?" Belle quietly asked, pointing with her eyes to the guards standing less than five metres away. "Is it just me, or is there something off about them?"

Whereas Elsa had been up to this point focussing only the White Knight, she now saw that Belle had been correct to divert some attention to the shadowy barricade which encircled the hostages. Like the small group of men she has faced off against in the Noble Tower all those months ago they were dressed in dark trench coats, balaclavas and combat boots. Unlike the thugs led by George Jones, each man held a menacingly large gun in both hands. Elsa's education and interests had never extended to firearms, meaning she had no idea what make the weapons were or how fast they could spit lead. However, catching on to Belle's suggestion that part of the thugs' appearance didn't quite make sense and with the initial fear response slowly subsiding, Elsa managed to pick out the detail which betrayed their captors.

"The guns aren't real," Belle supplied, just as Elsa was making the same conclusion. "Those are MP 40 submachine guns."

Elsa was surprised by the identification her companion had confidently supplied. Rather than using prior knowledge, the blonde had instead spotted the reflection of the light and the relatively loose grip each mercenary had on the seemingly heavy weapons. They were only made of plastic, and had been painted to look genuine.

"How do you know that?" Elsa queried with curiosity, surprised by the identification.

"The Canadian War Museum had a selection of guns used by the Nazis," Belle explained quickly, trying to verify her answer. "And I'm certain that's the same design as an MP 40. So, if all of those guys have got one, they can't be real since MP 40s haven't been produced for over seventy years now."

If anything, Elsa admired the explanation far more than her own process of deduction and it added crucial information about the scenario at hand. As a far cry from her initial pessimism; no one was in any mortal danger. The most that could happen was fleeing guests would receive a few blows from the plastic toys that were masquerading as Nazi weapons. Of course, it was conceivable the Knight was trying to trick her. While the surface facts indicated no harm could arise there as a chance (or a paranoid feeling) which warned Elsa to not make any complete presumptions.

The problem still remained of quietly alerting the guests that they could leave without the mercenaries resorting to any other means of force. There needed to be confusion, or a distraction, or full confirmation that the hostages were as safe as Elsa theorised.

As it turned out, a distraction was easy to come by. At the very moment Elsa began studying her surroundings in a renewed effort to find an escape route a horribly familiar voice piped up from the front of the crowd. It was loud enough to prompt silence from the guests, who had resumed normal conversations as if they were surrounded by menacing men in balaclavas. The person speaking had a presence which could not go unnoticed as it openly questioned the ringleader of the situation. And for Elsa, it tucked painfully on her nerves once she realised exactly who was speaking.

"Why are you holding us here?" Anna stridently demanded of the Knight, who ceased his pacing to stand over the young woman. She had placed herself in the centre of the room, just in front of the stage, with her eyes piercing the Knight's visor in moral outrage.

Elsa froze on the spot anchored by the reminder that her sister was among the attendees. Until this point, Anna had been relatively safe among the herd and had not called attention to herself. If she had remained hidden amongst the people Elsa could have focussed entirely on taking out their guards. Now all eyes were on her sister, and if anyone was going to threatened it would be Anna.

The Knight regarded Anna with no particular interest. There was absolutely no recognition in his manner as he stood still on top of the stage, looking down on her as if she were a surprising exhibit in a museum. For a few moments it even appeared as though he had not heard her at all.

Dully, Elsa noted that the DJ's disco lights began flashing in a bizarre pattern.

"Well?" Anna repeated in the renewed hush. "Why are you holding us here? Are you waiting to find if we know where the Snow Queen is? Because I can tell you now, no one here has a clue where she is."

Still, the Knight said nothing. His head cocked to one side for a brief period, but his body language remained the same. Silent, uncaring, and possibly confused.

As Elsa watched on, someone tried to pull Anna back into the crowd gently. Anna, however, was not having this treatment and shouldered herself free of the kind grip. Elsa only glance briefly to see it was Kristoff trying to protect Anna in some small measure. He looked as if he was going to try again, only to pause and become mesmerised by the lights.

"You're not very chatty tonight," Anna went on, oblivious to all else now. "You were far more conversational in Riverside. Is something wrong? Are you scared the Snow Queen is going to come and beat you up? Because the longer you hold us here, the closer she'll get."

A booming voice rang out of the speakers, causing the guests to huddle back in sudden fear. Some even cried out, having completely forgotten that the same trick had been used very recently.

"That's the plan." The White Knight finally responded.

"So you wanted her attention?" Anna asked, emboldened by her success in communication. "You took over a party to show her where you are?"

Slowly, the Knight nodded but resumed his silence. A silence which indicated quite a lot to Elsa.

There was an interval in the flashing lights, though they started again after a thirty-second pause.

"It's a bit overkill, isn't it? All these people," Anna continued, taking a careful step forwards to draw the collective attention of those in power away from those they had caged in. "I think you've made your point. I mean, at this rate you could just hold onto one of us-…"

"Anna, don't." Hans pleaded loudly, having realised where Anna was taking her monologue just as Elsa had.

"And I would like to suggest that you take me," Anna was unperturbed by her boyfriend's interjection as she again stepped towards the stage. At this point, the Knight was staring directly below himself to keep her in his line of sight, leaving everyone else free from his gaze. "Because the net value of my family's company is greater than anyone else's monetary value here. And I've been a hostage before. I know how to behave."

"No! Anna," Hans forcefully interrupted, pushing himself out of the crowd and pulling her behind him. "This is my gala, I'm in charge, and I volunteer myself to be kept behind if you let everyone else go."

The expression Anna gave Hans was one Elsa had often thought she herself wore whenever the Westerguard boy did anything. Her eyebrows had drawn together in confusion, while her eyes radiated annoyance at the interruption and she seemed to be about to say something when a subtle wave of a hand over Anna's shoulder drew Elsa's attention momentarily away.

It was Kristoff. He was staring directly at her, eyes fixed on hers, but he pointed with his chin towards the stage lights whilst pretending to scratch his chin.

The meaning was obvious. Like the Knight's presence and the weapons of his underlings, there was something meaningful about the pattern of the lights. However, the exact pattern had changed from before. Now each side of the equipment flared alternately, making it appear as if the DJ's programmed routine had resumed randomly. Yet Elsa was beginning to think nothing really happened randomly when the White Knight was involved, and so she studied the frequency of the blinking while simultaneously trying to evaluate the safety of her sister.

Anna was again putting herself forwards, stubbornly arguing that she would be the best possible hostage. Beside her, Hans kept stubbornly insisting it was his role and that it would be less dangerous for him to assume sole capture. Elsa thought the discussion was an exaggerated version of politely holding a door open for someone else and disagreeing on who should go first.

Nevertheless, it eventually struck Elsa what she was looking at. Sometimes the lights would just flash on and off. At other moments they would stay on for a few beats and then extinguish. Occasionally, there would be a much longer pause between flashes. After a while the lights would remain off for nearly ten seconds, before the pattern repeated. Elsa kicked herself when she realised Kristoff had figured it out before she had, although she also supposed he had helped her find the solution faster.

It went undoubted that Kristoff knew Morse code as part of his police training as a potentially useful skill which may pay off in scenarios such as these. And it had all been a matter of serendipity that Elsa had picked the code up whilst helping Olaf memorise it in University. Therefore, it did not take too much longer to decode the message and allow the situation to tentatively play into Elsa's favour again.

_E. Lights off? O._

Exactly how Olaf had known to break into the _Lumiere's_ security did not concern Elsa at this moment in time. She now had an opportunity to take down the White Knight and she was going to seize it. It would take precise aim and improvised timing, but it wasn't anymore taxing than all the other feats Elsa had been performing with her powers over the last few weeks.

Locating the nearest camera, Elsa discreetly nodded and held two fingers against her hair whilst supposedly straightening the bun. Hopefully Olaf would understand what she wanted from that.

Luckily his response was nearly instantaneous. Staring back at the stage, Elsa spotted that the disco lights had now turned on. After roughly twenty seconds: one of them turned off followed by a second after another steady interval. Ten more lamps remained in the countdown, giving Elsa just over four minutes to make the preparations.

Taking a hesitant step forwards, as if to go assist Anna, Elsa used her nerves to her advantage and twisted her high-heeled foot in a mock accident. There was an audible _snap_ as the heel broke off and Elsa stumbled into Belle, who had made to follow her.

"God, Elsa," Belle huffed at the sudden shunting. "Are you alright?"

It didn't take much acting to pretend that she was close to a panic attack. The pressure of this hastily formulated plan was weighing on her greatly, and that was without the risk of discovery it posed. There were certainly enough people around that, if Olaf didn't time it well enough, anyone could spot what she was going to do. Maybe that was the Knight's plan after all and the mercenaries were simply there to trick her.

But there were now only seven lights remaining. How long had Elsa been scrambling to take her shoes off? At least she made the performance believable. Who wouldn't suspect that she was frightened for her sister's life?

"Goddamn heels," Elsa muttered, before holding a hand to her forehead and forcing herself to breathe deeply. She needed complete concentration for this. "I… Can't do this."

Whether this was an admission of the shaky faith in her abilities or all part of her masquerade, Elsa wasn't certain. But it did at least give pretence that she was unwell, to the extent that Belle was now pulling her upright and dragging her toward the nearest chair. That chair just so happened to be next to the line of guards.

The guards tensed threateningly, but they soon relaxed again upon seeing why the blonde had been sat down so near to the perimeter. Elsa supposed she must really look the part if they were convinced.

"Just keep breathing, don't worry," Belle soothed, surprised by how quickly Elsa had turned to panic after being relatively confident since the hostage crisis had begun. "The Snow Queen will solve this."

This proclamation of faith in Elsa's alter ego had a bizarre set of effects, which would normally have been mutually exclusive. On the one hand, Elsa's self-assurance had surged from her friend saying such a thing. Then again, there struck a chord in Elsa's scared mind that Belle might also join the faceless number who would abhor her if her secret came to light. She was simultaneously hero and villain. Saviour and monster.

Three of the lamps remained. Elsa needed to focus, and she needed a clear aim. Mainly clear of Anna.

She pretended to make a resurgence in strength, rising unsteadily to her feet to see the progression of Anna's negotiation with the White Knight. Nothing much had changed. The Knight still watched Anna and Hans semi-quizzically; perhaps being amused by the squabble that was emerging in front of him. This squabble stemmed mostly from the fact that, rather than trying to make decent arguments to the Knight concerning who was the best one to abduct, Hans was now facing Anna with an exasperated look on his face as he told her (at the basis of it all) that he stood a much better chance of overpowering the Knight than she did. Anna, on her part was arguing that she was more valuable than he was and would be a much better strategic piece, to the point where more people would survive.

"Well at this rate, he's not going to take either of us hostage, is he?!" Hans was shouting, seeming to make out that all this was Anna's fault. In reality, it was probably a combination of their stubbornness which scuppered the redhead's selfless act.

"So you should have got out of the way when I said!" Anna countered, eyes flicking between her boyfriend and the Knight. "And it's just you who has no value now, since you've said you're just going to fight him! How would you do that? You're not even armed! At least I still have a political and business use!"

It was entirely possible they had forgotten so many people were watching them, although that aided Elsa's cause since there was a decreased risk that the guests would notice her. Indeed, there was only one person still watching her every move, and that was only Kristoff.

She caught his eye and stared pointedly at the mercenary closest to him. That particular blackcoat was stood just to the left of the nearest fire exit, and was the best bet for escape. Nonchalantly turning around, Kristoff size his future opponent up and nodded back at Elsa. She then motioned in Anna's direction and mouthed the word 'first'. Kristoff understood.

Two lamps left.

Hans was silent for the next few moments, seeming to grumble under his breath. His silence gave Anna enough reason to step forward again and begin to repeat her offer: the guests' freedom in exchange for her compliance.

Elsa planted her bare feet firmly on the ground as she leant against Belle. Doing her best to concentrate on the task, she felt the cold filter through her feet and spread in a great arc behind her. The fortunate thing with her powers was that, on the most part, they were silent. So when the frost and ice began to build along the perimeter of the ball room, no one noticed. The only thing they might see, if they were happening to watch her at the time, was the slim icicle which materialised in Elsa's free hand.

One lamp remained, and it took less than that time for Elsa to produce at least one layer of frost in a hoop around the guests. A hoop which also roughly ran under the feet of every mercenary, making their stance much less secure than it had been moments before.

"Anna," Hans loudly said whilst Kristoff surreptitiously snuck up behind her. "If this is a ploy to draw the Snow Queen to you again, forget it! It's not going to work! Besides, you were the one who told me that she doesn't care about y-…"

The ballroom was suddenly plunged into complete darkness. A great, sharp intake of terror was emitted from all the guests, drowning out what Hans was going to say but also covering the slight _whooshing_ of the flying icicle which followed its trajectory toward the stage. There was no grunt of pain, but Elsa knew that the Knight must have been hit. Otherwise there would have been more screams of pain as he tried to control the populace.

Across the room, there was the sound of fist fight and several bodies falling over. Next, a dim rectangle of light appeared in the corner where Kristoff had been standing. It hadn't taken him as long to knock down the guards as Elsa had feared, and she could spot the silhouette of her comrade and what she hoped was her sister exiting the building. Less than five seconds passed before the nearest guests also began surging towards the exit. They may not even have needed the two minutes of darkness Elsa requested from Olaf.

This would have been the best chance for Elsa to get out as well, before anyone could make deductions about what exactly was going on. However, three things stood in her way. Firstly; the fleeing guests were beginning to clog the fire exit as they too slipped on the ring of ice. Secondly; a rough, strong hand was grabbing her shoulder: doubtless one of the mercenaries attempting to hold a few hostages back. And thirdly; another spark of light caught Elsa's attention momentarily as she spotted someone diving out of the ball room into a service staircase. She didn't have to wonder over who it was.

Therefore, the first thing Elsa had to do was get rid of the masked men who were surrounding her and Belle. Thankfully, the darkness afforded her some measure of disguise.

Pushing Belle away forwards, Elsa span and flung a blind jab at the presence she could feel to her left. Her bare knuckles glanced off a chin, found a throat and were rewarded with the spluttering of an invisible adversary followed by a _thump_ as he fell backwards. A repeating noise informed her that someone else had been taken down in unison with this strike, while they were kept down by the ice. Next, Elsa waited for another man to approach. When the hand seized her forearm, she twisted down her fist downwards and to the left, while simultaneously bringing her open palm into his solar plexus. He was off-balance enough to allow her to sweep a leg into his knee, sending him to join his poorly-chosen teammates. For good measure, Elsa called a wall of ice into existence and spread it on a curve path roughly nine feet to her right and four to her left, cordoning off a corner where more mercenaries were probably stationed.

"Elsa?" Belle called from not too far away, her voice fearfully curious as she heard a number of blow being dealt and had no context as to who was doing what.

"I'm here, I'm fine," Elsa breathlessly replied, reaching carefully ahead of her until she found Belle's similarly outstretched hand. "Let's get out of here."

But this was only Elsa's plan for Belle. There was still one more thing she had to investigate, and that would lead her into the back staircase. This meant that Elsa could only go as far as the back of the charging herd, all of whom were attempting to force themselves out of a relatively narrow doorway with absolutely no coordination. Fortunately, this gave Elsa an opportunity to be plausibly separated from Belle. Unfortunately, she was then left with only seconds to find the back staircase before the lights came back on.

She had to run without any idea of the obstacles in her path, thankfully only encountering a bit of broken glass from a discarded champagne flute, before she found the edge of the stage. If Elsa remembered correctly, she could have sworn that the door had been roughly in the corner she was skirting her way towards. If not, then she thought she better have a viable explanation of what she was doing so far from the rest of the group when the lights came up again.

It was as she found the doorframe, a thin bit of wood from her perspective, that she became aware of someone close by to where she was. There were only seconds left before everything became visible again. Part of her feared that it was the Knight, who could have been lying in wait and trying to lure her to a confrontation. She steeled herself for a fight, created another icicle as a melee weapon, then sprang forwards and dragged the unknown opponent into the electric illumination of the back staircase.

However, rather than the White Knight or a mercenary waiting in the darkness for her, Elsa came face-to-face with Hans Westerguard. He was pale, sweaty and gave a cry of shock as she threw him onto the cement floor of the stairwell.

Noticing her mistake just in time, Elsa dropped the icicle in the ballroom and slid through the shutting door just as the fleeing guests were lit up once more. Luckily, Hans was too bewildered and frightened by the sudden attack to spot the evidence of her alter ego. It was still unclear what he was doing, lurking in the dark and on the trail of the White Knight.

"Hans?" Elsa asked in a voice of convincing concern and amazement. "What the hell?"

"Why did you do that?" He questioned back in a pained groan as he got to his knees. He rubbed his right arm where he had fallen on it. "And how? You're _really_ strong."

"I did tae-kwon-do when I was nine, some things stick," Elsa covered quickly, helping Hans back to his feet. "And I thought you were that maniac with the sword."

"No! No, I'm not a fencing psychopath," Hans said, shaking his head as if to dispel dizziness. "But I'm going after him. I saw him come this way. He's injured and, quite frankly, I've had enough of people in costumes ruining this city."

Elsa pretended to agree with his assessment of the crime in Arendelle, all the while inspecting the stairwell for clues. Not that it took her very long to spot where the Knight had gone. He may as well have painted a red line in his wake.

"Well I think he's gone up," Elsa tried to innocently observe, pointing to the trail which ran up the stairs. "Which means he can't have a very good way out."

Hans was stupefied at her keen eye for the scene, but swallowed down whatever retort he had to attempt adding to her theory.

"I guess he's going to the roof then," Hans semi-intelligently spouted, looking back to Elsa for confirmation. "Do you think he's using a helicopter or something? Like when he stole the delivery from Arcadia?"

It took Elsa a few moments to respond. She was surprised that Hans would so openly speak of the Knight's attack on the Westerguard Industries truck in front of her. If it had been an embarrassing theft from her own company, Elsa would have been less inclined to mention it to someone who should have no idea of the event.

"Possibly, but I guess we're going to have to find out." She answered, brushing past Hans to ascend the stairs.

"Wow. Hang on. We?" Hans puzzled over her determination to pursue the criminal, to the point she thought he was going to tell her to stay downstairs or go outside with the others.

"Yes. 'We'. That psychopath and I are the only two people to have thrown you about in the last hour, do you really want to face him alone?"

The reply was quick, but still uncertain.

"I guess not," Hans said, muttering something under his breath about the madness of it all but following Elsa up the stair nonetheless. "Let's go then."

* * *

Having long ago accepted that she was an adrenaline junkie, and being incapable of separating her professional analysis from the buzz of excitement which gripped her nerves, Leiko Tanaka leaned into the sharp turn of an intersection whilst traffic came at her from both sides. She felt her centre of gravity shift dangerously high up her body while the ground approached her as she sped on the curve. She heard the blast of car horns and smelt the fumes each vehicle produced when she came extremely close to being hit. She even got the chance to admire the shock on the drivers' faces when she was upright and shooting off down another street.

Perhaps the ice aided her acceleration, or her improvements to the mag-lev technology boosted her physical efforts, but this was by far and away the greatest speed Tanaka had ever achieved with her Master's Degree project. Of course, the frost also presented an extra risk when it came to acute bends or weaving through the sluggish queues, but it added to the exhilaration she felt. At any given moment, she could fall over or even be knocked down by a motorcyclist (which may happen, given the falling snow restricted her vision and bikes were the only thing that could hope of catching up with her), although she was beyond caring. If she died testing her gadgets, she wouldn't have to worry about the reprimands which would face her if she lived. Death was no big deal. Getting caught was her only worry.

Luckily the Police Cruisers which were undoubtedly tailing her had no chance of reaching her. They'd been chasing after the 'speedster', as the SFPD had labelled her, for at least twenty minutes and, if anything, they were further away than when they started. That was hilarious. She had known the police in Arendelle weren't great at response times, but she had given them more credit than this.

Leiko Tanaka dodged through a queue of parked cars, and then swerved onto the pavement to avoid the roadworks which loamed ahead. She wasn't sure how far she had travelled, but it was enough for the streets to have thinned out of pedestrians considerably. In her brief journey down the sidewalk, Tanaka only passed one man. He had just exited a Burger King and was gobsmacked when he spotted her approach. To add more substance to the story he would likely being telling anyone who would listen later, she reached out and snatched the drink from his hand. Soon after that she swerved back into the road and breezed through an intersection, all the while sipping on the drink.

It turned out to be a Coke. Tanaka didn't like Coke, so at the first convenience she sped into the park where she had met all those rich people the day before to drop the half-full cup into a bin. Despite the fact he couldn't see her, Tanaka thought one of her friends at the university would be proud of her cleanliness and civil responsibility. Then she ran some circles around a drunken man on a bench before returning onto her original course.

On the most part, the wheels seemed to be coping with the snow. This was better than she'd expected. Sure, some velocity was lost when the snow thickened or she went over an expanse of ice, but at least she hadn't fallen over yet. It had actually turned into the most exciting experience she had encountered in Arendelle so far. Much better than that snowball fight.

Inside the helmet, a timer began chiming in her ear. This was notifying her that the time she had allotted herself for the test had elapsed and the batteries would soon die. It was also the first disappointment of the evening. As soon as she could, she would increase the charge capacity and keep the suit running for a few hours. She was even tempted to build her own version to keep once her project was finished.

Grunting in dissatisfaction, Tanaka wheeled sharply around a corner to begin her return to the Westerguard Tower. Earlier in the day she had been told that the road on which the Lumiere Hotel sat would be closed to traffic, and this would be the ideal spot for her to go back on herself. Especially if the batteries were beginning to run out of power. It would be much better to stop in a vacant street and walk back in that case.

Unfortunately, Tanaka had missed the major news of the evening and was surprised to find the street of the Lumiere Hotel filled with police cars and ambulances. They hadn't been chasing her at all, but had only crossed her path by coincidence. And now she was crossing theirs.

Swearing under her breath, she tried to steer herself onto the pavement in the hope it would be clear long enough for he to pass through. Of course, she was passing through just at the point when a number of finely dressed people were running in the opposite direction to from a hidden alcove further along the building. For a few crucial seconds, Tanaka saw herself about to collide with a pair who looked surprisingly like the talkative Noble girl and the cop with the snowwoman fetish, until she leant to the right at the last moment and went up the steps of the hotel entrance instead.

Tanaka immediately kicked herself for this move.

Mainly because it sent her flying into the revolving glass doors and careering into the lobby amongst a cloud of glass shards. It was too late to regain her balance or slow down, leaving her to skid the long distance between the door and the check-in desk. The collision made a dull _thud_, and to top things off a vase dropped from the table top and smashed on her helmet.

In response, Tanaka let out a suffering groan and a string of expletives. Everything hurt. Her feet, ankles, wrists, fingers, ribs, pelvis. Pretty much everything except the head. It was a struggle to get the helmet off in this case, and when she finally did, Tanaka came face to face with a host of cops; all of whom had drawn their guns out.

"I can explain." Tanaka said when she saw the handcuffs.

* * *

Hans' theory of a helicopter escape came close to being proven correct as the pair followed the slim trail of blood to the top of the building. The red path was painted in spots and lines intermittently, occasionally for several flights of stairs, yet the Knight did not seem intent on taking any other path out of the hotel. This apparent mind set made Elsa wonder what his contingency plan was, seeing as it didn't fit in with the pattern of behaviour he had previously shown. The mastermind who she believed to have orchestrated much of the current situation in Arendelle was decidedly out of character on his heist tonight.

So Elsa was at once certain and sceptical of where the Knight had fled to once her and Hans ran out of staircase to follow. They were met with the roof exit, which had loomed from nowhere in a manner disturbingly reminiscent of a thriller movie. Indeed, it was the perfect scene. There was even a bloodied handprint on the door handle; indicating that either the Knight or his pursuers were trapped.

"Alright, what are we going to do?" Hans asked somewhat timidly as they paused just short of the door. "Are we going to attack, or keep him here until the police reach us, or what?"

He really was new to this. At least Elsa had some experience to draw back on.

"We're going to need multiple plans," Elsa recommended, looking Hans dead in the eye for the first time in months. She had to appear his equal for the moment, but she actually wanted him out of the way at the first convenience so she could face down the Knight. "It may be that we're too late to stop him from getting away. If that's the case then we've got nothing to fear and haven't lost much. But, should he be stranded, I think he's going to wait for us to come to him. Don't be doubtful; he was certainly waiting for the Snow Queen to approach him and he's injured as well now. So we keep our distance and find cover. Try to keep him here until the police get to us."

The Westerguard boy blinked twice in surprise at the well thought out strategy, and seemed to be having trouble with voicing the many things he was undoubtedly thinking.

"How on earth do you know what to do?" He spluttered, eyes flicking to the bloodied handle and back as if believing she had formed all this on the spot. She had, but he didn't need to know this.

"It's like in business: evaluate your competition and focus on their weak points." She explained, illustrating the process she actually used when properly in the Snow Queen's guise. A plan of attack was very similar to a business plan, only far more violent.

Her unfortunate companion nodded, then put his hand on the handle with only minor qualms about touching blood.

"Ready?" It was clear Hans himself was not prepared, despite his willingness to give chase to the maniac.

Elsa made a show of steeling herself for the confrontation, whereas in reality she had prepared herself mentally from the moment they'd started up the stairs. The White Knight had featured in her more prominent nightmares of the last few months; and the only way she was near ready for whatever conflict she was about to enter was by telling herself that she could get rid of him, perhaps permanently, if this went well. Then Marshall would be avenged, the mystery of the GDU would largely fade and her family would be safe. It may have been only these three positive results she could visualise against all the offerings her pessimism produced, but they were powerful enough to make her calm down and collect her thoughts.

"Let's do it."

Nervously, Hans shouldered the door open and went out first. From what they could see, the roof of the Lumiere was largely vacant; with the exclusion of a grid of air conditioners and a helipad in the far corner. From the snowy pile which dominated the majority of the helipad, Elsa could assume that no helicopter had been used to get away. In fact, most the snow was undisturbed apart from the few patches where the heat of the building had melted through into puddles. A knee high rampart ran the length of the building's perimeter, which was frosted over and similarly blanketed in white. Like the rest of the area, there was no disturbance.

"Where did he go?" Hans whispered, his breath fogging up while he spoke. He began to shiver. Obviously it was freezing out here, but Elsa was unable to feel it.

"Maybe he left?" Elsa offered, although she wasn't certain. A tinge of apprehension warned her that the Knight was somewhere nearby. After all, they felt the need to whisper on this seemingly empty rooftop.

And they were right, because no sooner had Elsa answered than the ivory costumed criminal dropped down from above the door, tackling Hans into the snow while kicking the blonde back into the doorframe. Elsa saw the flash of the sword, and watched it being slashed across Hans' forearm. He naturally yelled in pain, although he was lucky that his hand was not severed by the act.

The Knight slashed down again, aiming for Hans' head this time, but missed when his target twitched out of the way at the last moment. He made another attempt, although he overshot this time and ended up taking the tips of Hans' hairs away.

Hans, to his credit, struggled back as much as he could. But it was Elsa who rescued him. She had spotted that the Knight was giving preference to his left arm instead of his right. And from the poor dexterity of his sword swipes it was clear he was not left-handed. This indicated where the icicle had hit the Knight and gave Elsa the perfect opportunity to claw one hand over his right shoulder, dig one finger into the bloodied wound and pull him forcefully off of Hans.

There was a muffled scream beneath the helmet, and then the Knight kicked backwards into Elsa's shin. Elsa dropped at the blow, allowing the foe to elbow her in the chin and send her to fall heavily onto her back. She tasted blood, and her lower jaw now _clicked_ achingly, but it didn't seem anything was broken.

Hans was on his feet again, but unfortunately his idea to punch the Knight in the face did not work in his favour. There was, after all, a helmet in the way and a painful _crack _of knuckles echoed off the faceplate. In response, the Knight returned the strike weakly with his right hand. And then, for good measure, he kicked Hans in the crotch.

Her unlikely teammate now immobilised, Elsa was left alone to face down the Knight. Thankfully, Hans' incapacitation allowed her to fully draw on her powers. So once the Westerguard boy had rolled to face in the opposite direction, scrunched up in a ball, Elsa conjured up a rough facsimile of the Knight's sword in ice and pounced on the albino enemy. She twisted in mid-air so that her hip and shoulder would throw the foe off-balance and simultaneously swept down with her ice.

As a result, the Knight was shunted back with the focus of the push being on his injury. His sword hand was wrenched painfully back as he sought to keep a grip on the handle. He barely managed to block Elsa's next jab and he found himself gradually retreating in an effort to protect himself from further stabs. It became apparent that he was far worse fighting with his left, yet he still managed to return a few glancing blows which shaved a considerable length off Elsa's blade. But once he was backed into an air-conditioner he made a fatal mistake.

In the brief pause Elsa had given whilst she refroze her sword, the Knight drew his left arm back to collect speed and force for a diving jab. Except that he had not checked his surroundings, and the blade plunged with a _screech_ into the bulky metal box behind him. It lodged there, as he supposedly lacked the strength in his left arm to pull it out again. For the first time, Elsa saw the Knight unarmed, injured and without a backup plan.

"Anything to say?" Elsa asked as she advanced on his position, with the Knight backing away around the corner of the unit. "You usually have some jibe or plan or threat to fall back on."

She reached for the handle of the real sword and, with a sharp tug, managed to pull the blade out again. Carefully, she placed her hand at the point where the wood-and-leather grip met the actual knife-edge, with the intent to freeze the entire thing into a lump of ice. However, what took her by surprise was that, halfway through her demonstration of her strong position, the metal _creaked_ and the sword shattered into hundreds of fragments. Elsa was no expert on swords, but she was certain that most of these weapons would have endured a layering of ice. She had even seen the Knight drive his customary sword through thick materials with no obvious damage. The one she had just destroyed was extraordinarily fragile in comparison, and evidently may not have been the real sword.

But she had no time to think this through, as there was a familiar _click_ from the Knight's position. Glancing up, Elsa saw that her enemy was not as unarmed as she had previously believed.

"I never knew you carried a gun," She said, trying to open a dialogue in the hopes it would buy her some more time. Without the Snow Queen suit she was just as susceptible to bullets as anyone. And she definitely was not fast enough to stop one. "I didn't really think it was your style."

Like a common mugger, the Knight pointed downwards with the barrel of his gun in a motion she could understand. Slowly, Elsa kneeled down, placed her icy sword in the snow, and then stood with her hands in the air. Confidence returning, the Knight walked backwards until he could feel the ledge of the roof against his knees. With great care, he climbed on top of the short wall and then resumed his threatening stance.

"Are you getting out that way?" Elsa called, silently searching for anything she could use in her favour. Without her hands she was unable to utilise her powers accurately. Even if she tried to freeze him it was likelier the bullet would travel into her skull quicker than she could build a wall. All she had left were questions. "Why haven't you escaped yet? You always seem to have a back-up plan. And you're far more talkative. If I didn't know any better, I would think-…"

But before she could finish, Elsa spotted a rather slow and low-flying projectile sail through the air. Astounded, she watched as a snowball smacked against the Knight's faceplate; dispersing into droplets and snowflakes which blinded him. In shock, he made to wipe away the moisture. But then he slipped. And then, for a few seconds, he teetered on the edge of the icy ledge, unable to find a foothold. Finally, he silently fell backwards and disappeared.

Turning around, Elsa found Hans standing a short distance behind her. He was still bent over, a queasy expression dominating his face and his teeth were chattering away. How he had got so close without neither the Knight, nor Elsa noticing, was unclear. But he had done it. Somehow, Hans Westerguard had sent the White Knight tumbling over the edge of a twenty-storey building.

"Oh my God," Hans said after a long pause, his eyes still transfixed on the spot the Knight had previously occupied. "Is he dead? Did I just kill him?"

Without answering, Elsa tiptoed to the edge of the roof in her bare feet. It seemed almost impossible to comprehend, given that she still wasn't sure about many of the things she had seen tonight. But when leaned over and stared down to the first balcony, three floors below her, there wasn't any more confirmation.

"Yes," Elsa called back to Hans. "He's dead."

The man had landed on his back, with his neck taking most the impact. His head lolled at a sickly angle and the rest of his body was inert. The gun had landed beside him, but he did not reach for it. His foot was in a flowerpot, but he did not move it out of the dirt. His red shoulder was open to the air, but he did nothing to cover the wound because no more blood came out. The man was dead. Hans had killed him, in defence.

This man was dead, but Elsa wasn't sure the White Knight was.

* * *

**Please Review. I'll try to get back to you soon.**


	28. The Man in White - Part Three

**Okay, so not exactly the productivity I had envisioned… Holy crap, four months ago. But I'm back now, with another little slice of the story. Perhaps we'll get this arc done by the next Christmas? So yeah, sorry everyone. Been quite stressed recently and started working on a different original project for a little while. I think I put too much pressure on myself with the prospect of running multiple stories.**

**This brings me to a small announcement, nothing bad. But, the question is, would anyone like to take over **_**The Vigilantes of Corona**_**? Because I don't think I can do both and it's just sort of hanging over me. Obviously, Corona and Arendelle are linked together in this universe somewhat, but that doesn't mean I'd be limiting your creativity in any way. There would need to be discussions so there wouldn't be a whole Sabretooth situation going on with various villains and perhaps the odd crossover, otherwise it'd be your own story. So if anyone's interested, PM and I'll talk it over.**

**Anyway, I'll get out of the way and present to you the new chapter. Before I do, though, I wish to dedicate this chapter to Enchiladas and a guest reviewer, both of whom pushed me to resume work on this. **

**Happy reading.**

* * *

By the next morning, it was safe to say that no one had received a decent night of sleep at the Noble Estate. Nerves had been shot, questions had been raised and everything was levelled with a greater uncertainty than it had been twenty-four hours ago. Elsa's entire document on the White Knight (which consisted of only four sheets of concrete evidence) seemed to be even further off the mark now. Now that he had sought her out, she knew that what the Snow Queen's team had gathered was only a pinhead on the tip of an iceberg.

It had been the nightmares of a ghostly Knight that had shaken Elsa from her slumber in the small hours. In total, she had managed just less than three hours of sleep but her mind was frantic, electrified, unfeeling as she was driven to study the eight sides of paper she had written with largely speculative notes. And it was in this state, huddled at her desk in the study, that Kristoff found her just after dawn.

"So you couldn't sleep either?" He asked with a yawn, slumping heavily on the chaise lounge in the corner of the office.

Kristoff looked as awful as he sounded. After successfully leading the guests out of the ballroom he had been drafted into the investigation by the officers who had responded. They had already cleared and questioned the staff by the time of the mass exodus from the White Knight's grasp, but that only revealed peculiarities in how the pale villain had managed to get into the hotel in the first place. According to the concierge, the Westerguard party had been rebooked, with its title changing from 'Gala' to 'Business Banquet'. Various members of waiting-on staff and security also put forward and supported the story that all the people working that night knew of the mercenaries who would march into the ballroom, although they had been told this would be for the demonstration of new products, and how weaponry could be hidden on the person. None of them had any idea it was for the purposes of holding the rich visitors hostage.

This had been all the police had known until Kristoff led the panicked guests out via an alley. He had immediately told his superiors who was responsible for the mayhem and gave an account of what had gone on inside. And then it was only slight variations of this tale that the police had managed to gather from the people they interviewed. The process of questioning was, however, complicated when a girl in a motorised roller-skate suit had crashed through the front of the hotel; leading to a short panic as the police momentarily believed this was part of the attack.

In the end, Kristoff got away at four in the morning and had accepted Elsa's offer to spend the rest of the night in the Noble Mansion. Anna had also come with them, once Hans and Elsa's health had been verified and they had similarly given accounts of the events on the roof. All four of them had been told that there would be further inquiries, but they would be innocent of any charges that might arise due to the nature of the defensive killing. As nights went, there were very few conclusions and a smaller drive to focus on it until they had all slept.

"I was awake at seven," Elsa answered, finishing her fifth reading of the third page and flipping the sheet over. "How long were you out for?"

"I've been wandering around for at least half-an-hour," Kristoff revealed, covering his eyes and sighing into the palms of his hands. "This place is massive. How do you find your way around?"

"I grew up here."

A calm quiet resumed when Kristoff couldn't think of a decent response. They both knew they were avoiding the elephant in the room for the moment, trying to find some form of rest before they recommenced the hunt. There was a lot more to address now and Elsa couldn't help but get the feeling they were slowly being baited into sticking their necks under a guillotine.

"Was Hans alright in the end?" Kristoff mused, trying to break the awkward silence but tiptoe around the major news.

"Yeah. He went straight on to the hospital after dropping Anna off. I think they had a major disagreement," Elsa said, recalling the furious and sleepy redhead who had burst through the front doors as she had been going to bed. Hans had stayed out in the car, giving Elsa a respectful wave before he drove back down the driveway again. "He had to get his arm stitched up and put an icepack on his… Crown jewels."

Kristoff snorted upon hearing Elsa say this. It may have been his lack of sleep or the fact that Elsa was usually so dignified in her speech, but he found it hilarious. If this had been said without the alarming and threatening backdrop, it could have belonged to the care-free woman Elsa might have been. They could have been two twenty-somethings laughing over a mishap in their group of friends, instead of vigilantes trying to distract themselves from the dangerous reality. Elsa, of course, found no humour in the awkwardly phrased reference. She remained staring at the page, in which she found no new information, for a while longer before finally giving herself a break.

"Olaf will be here at ten," Elsa said, stacking the papers neatly and returning them to the folder she had deceptively named _Cross-Company Department Heads of Research and Development_, before stashing it away in her top drawer. "We'll need to talk about all this at some point and I'd rather do it here if what he said about the Ice Palace is true."

"That sounds good," Kristoff yawned in response, trying to rub the sleep further out of his eyes but only making a return to bed seem all the more tempting. "What do we do until then? Are your servants going to bring breakfast out?"

"Most of my house-staff are on holiday at the moment," Elsa answered, leaning back in her chair and half-turning to look over the snowy grounds. "There are two maids working today, but they won't arrive until nine. Gerda's heading home to Dunbroch this afternoon and Tiana's taken up semi-permanent residence in Maldonia. I think that as far as breakfast goes we're on our own."

Kristoff acted like this was the best news he had heard in a long time (and, depressingly, it could have been) when he stumbled up to his feet with a different sense of purpose to the one Elsa usually saw him use.

"I can make pancakes if you like," He immediately offered. "You need some kind of highlight for today, may as well be food. Shouldn't be a short supply around here. And it is Christmas."

He dragged himself from the chaise lounge with many groans protesting his fatigue. Thankfully he'd been given the day off from work and was free to enjoy the sunny, wintery outdoors all he liked. But they both knew he would spend much of the day working on the case of the White Knight. Kristoff just hoped he could fetch Sven from his apartment and go for a walk at some point.

"I was just going to have some porridge, maybe some toast," Elsa admitted, raising one hand to her forehead and rubbing her temples. "There's no time for luxuries anymore."

Kristoff paused at the doorway, turning back to see Elsa sat behind that imposing desk which was once her father's. Simultaneously, she looked tense and deflated. Agitated defeat might have been the term, if such a thing existed. She'd be one or the other eventually. Then she'd know what to do next; relax because the Knight was gone or work on vanquishing him. Hopefully, as Kristoff thought, she might feel victorious one day. If she didn't kill herself from exhaustion in the process, that is.

"Hey, Snowflake," Kristoff teased in an attempt to lighten her mood. "Try to let it go for a little while. It's the twenty-second of December. Have a hot chocolate, watch _Elf_, or speak to your sister. The man in the white suit can be a problem after you've been unwound a bit."

There was no doubt that Elsa heard him, but she deigned to reply. All she did was drop her hand and squint at the growing glow of the unmarked fields of snow across her garden. Then she reached up, leaning out of her chair, grasped a tasselled cord beside the window, and drew the curtains shut. The study went dark, excluding the damp light of the old lamp in the corner; casting a hazy silhouette of Elsa.

Even though he knew he shouldn't, Kristoff felt a tinge of resentment. Perhaps she was trying to get some rest. She might even be engaging in a vague form of meditation (he supposed her martial arts teacher could have taught her that as well). But what it looked like to him was the wilful disregard of his advice. Had a little act of rebellion like this been the seed for Pabbie quitting the team?

Throughout his childhood, Kristoff had been aware that, quite often, it was the mind that was the problem when illness struck. And he had learnt that people couldn't be blamed for what they felt, or how they dealt with it. The body could be protected, feelings couldn't. He'd just have to sit back and help where he could, while waiting for them to recover. He'd also realised, ashamedly quite late, that his experiences could not be equated to someone else's experiences. In fact, now it seemed rude to him when people were categorised into certain behaviours and patterns.

No one else on earth could have experienced what Elsa experienced. There were surely similar cases of tragic family accidents, followed by self-loathing and manic over-compensation hidden under the guise of a functioning persona. But Elsa, like everyone else, was unique in their issues. Literally, extremely different, in her case.

So Kristoff felt like he couldn't be angry at Elsa. She was dealing with a lot. However, it still stung when she failed to visibly heed his advice.

Without saying anything else, Kristoff slipped out of the room to make some pancakes.

* * *

At the opposite end of the Noble Mansion, much the same atmosphere of unwavering study existed around Anna's old bedroom. Like it had been when she lived there the place was a mess. Apparently the staff had continued to respect her wish for it to be left alone (a protocol they were familiar with, considering Elsa's frequent barring of the west wing's top three floors), and Anna appreciated their diligence to the family wishes. Sure, it was pain to find _Daredevil _in the _Batman Forever _case and one of her old socks in a diary from when she'd pretended to be Dobby, but it showed her that she was heard. Everyone in Arendelle may scoff at her instructions, but the family servants respected.

Unfortunately, most of them were away for Christmas. Even Kai, who often had the cabby duty of listening to Anna whilst ferrying her across the city, was away. That surprised her just a little bit. It always seemed that Kai was in the background somewhere. His absence felt odd once she'd noticed.

And that left her with a growing host of borderline neglect. Anna knew she was probably taking the events of the previous night too hard, but Goddammit did she feel entitled to self-pity at the moment. It wasn't even that she'd been involved in yet _another_ hostage situation (bringing the total to only three, but she thought that was more incidents than most people encountered). No. What had Anna upset was that one more person she loved had turned on her, belittled her, and reminded how little of an impact she had. The headlining examples of this on her list included: Elsa, even though she was trying her best to remedy the years of self-imposed separation; her parents, who had funnelled much of their attention into their elder child and had only hurt Anna inadvertently; the Snow Queen, who didn't show herself the previous night which led Anna to believe the vigilante knew she was there; and now Hans. Hans who had listened to her stories, accepted her peculiarities, made the world look more welcoming than she'd seen previously, and then use the secrets she had trusted him with to reach his own ends. Granted, he had only said it in an attempt to save her from the White Knight, but his last resort had also, in Anna's view, exemplified how he didn't trust her to take care of things.

Much of this she had voiced on the journey home last night. The facts that Hans returned to his doting, apologetic manner only made her angrier. Her frustration only heightened when he became exasperated. And now she didn't know where they stood.

As she thought about it, Anna realised that last night had been the first major argument they'd had. Judging from how she felt, it could also be the last. That thought made her feel worse, even though she knew it shouldn't. Better than most people, she knew that loved ones could leave the lives of others for very trivial reasons.

In the end, Anna had decided to do what Elsa had done their entire childhood. She hid in her room, rather than face what was happening outside. For the moment, anyway. To be fair, Anna had reached a low of boredom and had ventured out to the library to fetch something to read. And so that was how she passed much of the morning: hiding behind the curtains of her four-poster bed and reading her father's old _Incredibles_ comics. They did while away a few hours.

"What the hell?" Anna cursed when she reached the end of the last issue Adgar had collected, in which the Underminer had only just appeared. "What happens next?"

Ultimately, this disappointment made Anna leave her bedroom rather than stay in there permanently, if only to find the next comic book so that she may resume her isolation without the threat of an unnecessary cliff-hanger. Whilst going through the library more thoroughly, wondering whether the issue could have been hidden between the books on the shelves, she heard the doorbell chime out in the distance. She decided to ignore it, though. No one knew she was here and even fewer would be interested in talking to her. The best she could hope for was to find the blasted comic and then return to her room. Even if she didn't find it, at least she could binge watch _Daredevil_.

"Simply havin' a wonderful Christmastime." Anna muttered under her breath.

To be fair, her Christmas history hadn't been brilliant in recent years. Since the deaths of her parents there had been no one in Arendelle to spend the holiday period with. Sure, one Christmas she'd gone to Corona to have yuletide with Rapunzel and her family, and the last two she had worked at _Oaken's_. But she hadn't really had the brilliant time the Noble Family used to have when they were together. Christmas morning and Christmas dinner had been the two of the seldom annual times Elsa would make an appearance when they were growing up. Anna had hoped this year her and Elsa would rekindle some old traditions, and perhaps have Hans as well, if her sister was willing. But no, Elsa was holed up in her study doing God knows what and Hans… Well, Anna didn't exactly know. He could end up being called to the Southern Isles for all she knew.

A small spring of optimism in her chest made her hope that Christmas was still salvageable. After all, there was still forty-eight hours left and a lot could change in that time. But Anna wasn't going to hold out that Elsa would suddenly rectify the years of hurt she had caused. It may have been unfair to blame her (after all, Elsa had been making an effort since her return from university) but feelings were not always fair.

Anna reached the end of bookcase, and was turning the corner when she came face-to-face with the first person she had seen all day. It was Kristoff, standing at the library door with a wide-eyed expression upon seeing the extent of the Noble library. She was just as surprised to see him. Honestly, she didn't have any idea what he was doing here. After the events of last night, she'd thought he'd just gone back to his apartment. Apparently not, given he was standing there in an ill-fitting pair of her father's old pyjamas.

"Can I help you?" Anna asked, somewhat gruffly, when Kristoff didn't say anything.

"Yeah, sorry I was just…" He trailed off, staring in her direction and then pointed behind her in surprise. "Is that real?"

Anna looked over her shoulder and spotted the object of Kristoff's shock. It was the antique suit of armour her grandfather had passed down to his son. To her, it was just a large bookend, but she supposed it did cut an imposing figure to guests. Especially considering the cleaners kept all the intricate metal work shining.

"Yeah, it's baroque," Anna answered, remembering the description some historian her father had had check it over gave. "Restored to how it was in 1582. If it's not baroque, don't fix it."

"Right," Kristoff said unsurely. He'd never heard the word 'baroque' before and did not exactly know what it meant. "Okay… You have a guest."

Anna quirked an eyebrow at him. "Did Elsa hire you as a butler, or something?"

"No? But no one else was answering the door and I can't exactly shout for you from the hall." Kristoff defended, mildly offended. "You're different here."

When he said this, however impersonal an observation it was, Anna turned a little red from embarrassment and regretted how snooty she had appeared. She thought she'd rid herself of that behaviour after living in the city so long.

"Sorry," She quickly said, trying to regain her jokey demeanour. After all, Kristoff wasn't one of the people who had neglected her in any way. "You're not dressed like a butler anyway. Not that I'm saying you're a slob! I just found it weird that you announced a guest. I'm sure you'd actually look very handsome in a suit. Actually, you are, because I saw you in one last night… Not that I'm trying to hit on my sister's boyfriend or anything. Just… ah, crap. Who was at the door? Are they waiting downstairs?"

It took Kristoff a moment to process the quickly spun string of thoughts, but he did his best not to pull too many faces while figuring it out. "Erm, yeah. It was Hans at the door."

"Oh!" Anna chimed, her recently regained smile falling slightly. "I don't really want to see him at the moment."

"That's the thing," Kristoff went on, peeking back at the corridor. "He thought you might not want to, so he followed me. He's just outside."

As this was said, the familiar man tiptoed around into the threshold of the library. Hans looked sheepish as he stood there, with a lopsided smile and a bouquet of flowers in one hand. He held them to mask the expanse of bandage wrapped around his forearm, and he still limped slightly from the personal injury he was dealt only twelve or so hours before. Apparently lacking the confidence at this moment to say anything, he opted to wave.

"I'll leave you to it," Kristoff awkwardly said, shuffling back slightly. "And just, you know, general information: I'm not actually Elsa's boyfriend. We're just friends."

"That's how romcoms start." Anna chimed, although she felt an unrecognised amount of pressure lift with his assurance.

"Oh, Kristoff, before you go," Hans quickly said as he passed. "Could you do me a favour and come with me to the precinct in a little bit? Leiko's been arrested and I need someone I trust to find out whether she actually stole from the company or not. Apparently she had some kind of roller-skating suit."

The bizarre detail of the reason Tanaka was arrested did not seem to faze Kristoff in the slightest. All he did was nod and excuse himself to get dressed, leaving Hans and Anna to whatever personal business they had to discuss. Thankfully, Hans cut straight to the chase.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said last night. It was a stressful position to be in and I didn't want you to get hurt."

Anna barely listened to it. This was just a rehash of what Hans had said on the drive home the night before. When she didn't make any move to respond, Hans awkwardly put the flowers down and made a few carful steps towards her. As he did so, he gingerly rested his arm against the nearest row of shelves and dragged his hand along it, feeling the gaps between each spine.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Hans went on, his voice conflicted between feeling he was right and wanting to make her happy. "Because I've seen how dangerous that man can be and, if I'm honest, I would put myself between you and him again in a heartbeat."

"Would you say the same thing again, though?" Anna asked suddenly, her arms folded across her chest.

"I'm- Pardon?"

"Would you say the Snow Queen doesn't care about me again, if you had to?" Anna clarified, disbelieving that Hans had forgotten the reason she had been so upset with him, even after she'd told him.

Hans paused, and thought about the question, his eyebrows furrowed. Turning away briefly, Anna spotted the small scar hidden amongst his sideburns and saw it stand out as a white line on red as he scrunched his eyes shut.

"Does it not matter that _I_ care about you?" He asked back, exasperated, hurt.

"It does matter to me," Anna admitted, taking her first step towards him. "But it just… I don't know… I can't stand the idea that you'd use my feelings against me. Because I've told you a lot about how I feel. How the Snow Queen's important to me. And how do I know that in the future, if we face that kind of situation again, or if we get into another argument, how do I know that you won't use those feelings against me?"

Putting his hand to his face, sighing heavily, Hans groaned that it had come around to this again. Anna knew she spoke about the Snow Queen too much, but this was the first time Hans had shown any grievance with it.

"Anna, you have to put this Snow Queen stuff behind you, it's not like she's your sister," He urged, trying to keep his voice level. "You're not seeing the big picture. She's trying to keep this whole city safe, and she can't do that if people are unnecessarily throwing themselves in danger. And last night, since she didn't show up, I tried to keep all those people safe, starting with you."

"So you threw my insecurities back at me? Save me physically, but not psychologically?" Anna found it hard not to scoff at that. She knew he meant well, but it was still an old wound he'd opened. "You need to trust me to make my own decisions and handle the consequences. That's what you, what the Snow Queen, what my family have done my entire life. I know you were doing what you thought was right, but you have to show me that you respect my decisions. More than a bunch of flowers will."

Throughout this, Hans watched her. He was almost on the verge of tears at his failure, and it gave Anna a reason to wonder if he had his own issues dictating his decisions. With this in mind, she chose to end her argument there, before she said something she'd regret. At least she'd made her position clearer.

"Look, I think we both need some time to think," Anna finished, swallowing back the surprising well of emotion which had emerged at the sight of Hans' despair. "And you've got a lot to sort out with Tanaka. So we'll speak tomorrow?"

"Okay," Hans said after some thought. Once or twice, Anna had hoped he'd make a declaration of commitment, in the way all those movies she'd seen as a child had led her to believe. But no, Hans was showing he respected her decision. Which may have been better. "I'll call you tomorrow. Don't go Snow Queen stalking in the meantime."

With a sad smile, he left her alone in the library. Despite all she had confessed, the conversation had left Anna feeling flatter than before and she couldn't be bothered looking for the comic book anymore. Hans was right, she was still very hung up on the Snow Queen. Just like everyone else, the vigilante thought she was weak and, as she had done just now, Anna realised she needed to show she could hold a strong position. She turned on the spot a few times, surveying the library as she thought. The she stopped when the baroque armour caught her eye.

She wondered whether Elsa would let her borrow it.

* * *

In her time, Leiko Tanaka had been rather successful in avoiding a holding cell. Since her father had worked for the police back in Japan she had thought that she knew their systems inside and out. During her holidays in Korea she had put this intimacy to good use when she first entertained the idea of Mag-Lev technology, especially the way she was using it. Even at college she'd been able to covertly test her projects without getting caught. Of course, the balance of probability was always against her encountering a terrorist attack before. That was certainly a new one.

What kind of place was Arendelle if this sort of thing happened monthly? Not a day could go by without there being an update on some sort of situation which required the interference of the Snow Queen. Tanaka supposed that 'girl power and all that' prospered because of it and the thrilling risk of the apparently dangerous streets was well worth it. But even Tanaka had to admit that this wasn't the kind of environment people should be living in. Was the police department really so terrible as to warrant some madwoman bending the laws of nature?

Obviously not. After all, they had arrested Tanaka pretty quickly after encountering her. She decided she couldn't blame them, really. It was just an unfortunate coincidence and her engineering project did look rather threatening. Perhaps she should choose a colour other than black. Maybe something high-vis. Green? No, that would look stupid. In Tanaka's mind, she'd always thought red and blue would be a good colour scheme if her invention was applied as it was intended. Or yellow. Yellow would be a nice touch. If it worked for Sinestro it would work for her current purpose.

All of this, however, would be useless if she didn't get her story straight. What could they charge her with? Vandalism? Disruption of public order? _Speeding_? Surely there wasn't a law concerning how fast an individual could go if they weren't in any recognised vehicle. Tanaka decided that would be a good defence if they tried to prosecute her, because her Mag-Lev suit wasn't really a vehicle. Technically, it only existed on paper. The Institute of Technology knew nothing about it. Which, granted, wouldn't protect her from being expelled.

These were the thoughts that occupied Leiko Tanaka's mind as she waited in an interview or interrogation room at the Arendelle Police Precinct. For some unknown reason they had chosen to handcuff her to the table, but at least they'd let her keep her gum. Repetitive chewing would keep her occupied until she could find a breakfast which wasn't largely inedible. If she played it right, she could wangle a cop's donut. They probably all had donuts hidden somewhere in this building.

Finally, after half-an-hour of staring at the two-way mirror (during which time she came up with a solution to the balance issue of the wheels when the suit was activated), the door finally opened to admit an official to take her statement. And, surprisingly enough, it was the one cop she knew in this city.

"Good morning, Miss Tanaka," Bjorgman tiredly yet cordially greeted. He certainly looked like he'd deflated. Bags under his eyes, a more defined slouch and a somewhat troubled touch to his gaze. "I trust you know why you're here."

"Because I crashed through a window?" Tanaka hazarded a guess before blowing a large pink bubble, popping it and crushing it with her tongue.

"While simultaneously breaking the speed limit," Bjorgman deadpanned, unimpressed by her attitude. "_On foot._"

Tanaka grinned briefly, and then fell back into her resting scowl. She offered no response. There wasn't any point in denying her feat of engineering.

Seeing that no answer was forthcoming, Bjorgman opened a file on the apparent crime. Inside were pictures from speed cameras, a shot of the _Lumiere _front window, and a piece by piece photographic examination of her suit. He made a point of studying the witness statement before he carried on with his interview.

"I guess you've been doing this for a while," He observed as he flicked through the pictures. "See, we called up San Francisco, and they said they'd also had a problem with on-foot speeding. As has Tokyo, and Vladivostok. How on earth did you do Vladivostok?"

Again, Tanaka refused to answer. She just kept staring on as if he wasn't there. Because she had no idea a record had emerged in the other places she'd tested the suit. And because she'd never been to Vladivostok. She hardly knew where Vladivostok was. Near China? This surprised her. But there was no point in arguing on this point. Bjorgman would hardly believe her.

"Alright," The cop continued when he accepted her snub. "So you're not confirming or denying it. Fair enough. Right to remain silent. But if you don't say anything, I can't help you. And I _do_ want to help you. You're a surprisingly nice person. So, please tell me where you got the suit from."

"Are you allowed to do the interrogation?" Tanaka asked after a pause. There was no point in lying, but if she beat Bjorgman into submission there was a chance she could get away with some mistruths. And he'd already conceded some of his authority by admitting he wanted to help her. "Like, don't you have to be higher ranking? 'Cause you're just a regular joe-cop, really. Is this even official?"

It was now Bjorgman's turn to be silent. He merely shot her an unimpressed glare, but one fraction of a second, on glimmer, Tanaka saw his eyes flick to the mirror. Then she understood.

"Oh." She drew the sound out in condescension. "You're acting on behalf of Westerguard, aren't you? Suppose it makes sense. I mean, I'm pretty sure he funds half the police force, but now you're under his thumb. That's fine. I guess he wants to know whether the suit is stolen from his company."

"Well, that is one line of inquiry," Bjorgman admitted, rearranging the stacks of photos to find a specific picture of the equipment. "For one thing, the battery pack you used was manufactured by Westerguard Industries and our forensic department found that the poly-alloy was produced by one of their derivative companies. So is the suit stolen?"

"No." Tanaka responded flatly, without offering any further explanation until prompted by Bjorgman. "It's my postgraduate project."

"Your _postgraduate_ project?" Of course he didn't believe her.

"Yeah, the San Francisco Institute of Technology requires all students for a master's degree to design and build a prototype of their own choosing," Tanaka explained, with a carefully controlled level of pride in her voice. "And my area of study is Mag-Lev technology, so I've adapted the basic principle."

"Alright," Bjorgman answered, puzzled further by this revelation. Again, his eyes darted to the mirror although he covered this up as best as he could. "And 'Mag-Lev' is?"

Tanaka brought her hands to her forehead with a sigh, blew another bubble and then began her lengthy explanation of her project. She assumed that the more details she gave now, the sooner she'd be freed.

"Magnetic Levitation technology is the term we give to the use of electromagnetism in machinery. It's a Japanese development, kind of based on the bullet trains but now the focus is on making it smaller and more applicable to other areas," Tanaka started, doing her best to leave out the calculations and specialist vocabulary she had been accustomed to using in reference to her field. So far Bjorgman seemed to understand. "So, imagine a truck which lessened its weight by using electromagnets to lift its cargo or a car which could float off the ground and reduce the risk of hitting pedestrians. Originally, I was going to apply the principle to a bicycle. The idea was to make bikes as fast as cars to reduce the pollution."

"Except you're idea of a bike looks remarkably like an alien roller-derby uniform." Bjorgman interrupted, having been made sceptical by the revelation of Tanaka's primary plan.

"Well, I realised a bike like that couldn't really go at the speeds I needed it to for the idea to catch on. Plus you Americans seem convinced you should all drive four-by-fours in case you need to fit a cow in the backseat. And then one of my friends gave me a new idea for how Mag-Lev can be used."

"Hold on. You have friends?"

Tanaka didn't appreciate the joke, but she ignored it rather than show her annoyance. "My friend is developing a healthcare robot. Like an inflatable nurse, or something dumb. But I thought that my Mag-Lev stuff could be adapted to healthcare as well. See, an ambulance isn't always able to get to an accident in time. There could be traffic or none could be available or something. Because your idea of healthcare in this country is a joke. So I thought that I could combine the paramedic and the ambulance into one suit. That way they're small enough to dodge other vehicles and fast enough to reach any given area as soon as possible. Like a first-responder on wheels."

She could see that Bjorgman finally understood the idea. In fact, he was actually impressed. Which he should be.

"And I have a patent on the design, so you can't steal it; Mr Westerguard!" Tanaka exclaimed at the mirror.

"So you don't actually like Westerguard Industries?" Bjorgman inquired curiously, surprised by her sudden accusation.

"It was an alliance of convenience. I wanted some new terrain to test the suit out on, because the Institute's sports field just won't do for thorough examination, so I applied for a winter internship in Arendelle. And Westerguard needed to fill a position," Tanaka admitted, knowing this would mean the end of her tenure in the city. It wasn't as if she could go back anyway. "The Mag-Lev suit is not a weapon. It's to be used in response to the _victims_ of a nutter with a weapon. Or when someone slips in the shower."

Bjorgman was quiet for quite a while after this explanation. He'd been making notes throughout the interview to go along with the recording, but had now come to an end and simply sat there thinking for a few minutes. For the first time he actually allowed himself to face the mirror as if he could see the man on the other side and gage a reaction. But he was the official, and it was going to be his call in the end.

"Alright, I think that's all I need for now," He concluded, underlining something he'd scribbled and closing his notepad. "Someone will be in for you in a moment. Personally, I don't think there's any need for this to go further. The insurance at the _Lumiere_ will cover the window, and if the university takes claim for your project then there's nothing really to do. You'll probably get a speeding ticket at the most. And we'd like to hold onto your suit for a while longer. But otherwise you're free to go."

* * *

"Well, we know absolutely nothing." Olaf groaned.

By the time Kristoff had returned and they had all assembled in the library, the sun was dipping back below the horizon. For this brief interlude of early evening sunlight blasted directly through the high windows and cast fantastic colours onto the walls. Until Elsa closed the curtains so that they could make use of a projector Olaf had procured on his way rather than crowd around his laptop. With the heating on, the room quickly became stuffy although none of them complained. Elsa, of course, couldn't feel it and her focus was of such intensity that neither Kristoff nor Olaf dared bring it up.

The main object of the projection was to replay the footage Olaf had managed to duplicate from the previous night. From this, there wasn't much more they could ascertain from the sped up recording. In a loop, the Knight would appear on the stage and throw Hans into the crowd. Then he would pace up and down like a jumpy chicken for a few minutes as the hour he had held the ball hostage elapsed. Eventually, he would stop to watch Anna, say his line of 'that's the plan', and disappear to the roof once the room went dark. At that point the projection would cut to the helipad and Elsa watched over and over again as she beat the White Knight to the edge of the building before an off-screen shot from Hans ended the scuffle. The screen went dark for a few seconds, and then restarted in the ballroom.

"Look on the bright side; we have more evidence than when he attacked the convoy." Kristoff pointed out, although the usefulness of this footage was unclear. After all, there was only Elsa's word that the Knight was dead and she was the first to question whether what she actually saw was true. The only thing he could gleam from the tape was that the Knight was not as strong an adversary as previously thought.

"He may be gone!" Olaf tried to perpetuate, uncomfortable that he was cheery about a man's death. "What do you think, Elsa?"

Elsa faced the screen, away from her compatriots, in determined silence. She watched as once again the White Knight entered the ballroom, threw Hans away, and then fell quiet for much of the remainder of the recording. Anna spoke to him, asked him several questions, and received a short response. 'That's the plan'. A very short response from a man who had delivered quite the spiel to the Snow Queen. Obviously, the Knight wouldn't discuss his plan with a hostage, but he had demonstrated an oratorical ability which could provide more than a vague answer. What had the question been in the first place?

"Kristoff? What did Anna say before the Knight spoke?" Elsa asked, feeling the beginning of a theory dawn on her.

Like the well trained, focussed officer that he was, Kristoff managed to recall the gist of everything important said the previous night. As Olaf had often remarked in the last few months of crime fighting, Kristoff could have been a brilliant detective.

"She asked him if there was something wrong and accused him of being scared of you," Kristoff recounted, maintaining a neutral gaze at the back of Elsa's head. "To which the Knight said-…"

"'That's the plan'," Elsa finished, thinking the flow of that conversation over. "'Are you scared?' 'That's the plan.' It doesn't sound right, does it?"

"Elsa, this isn't the time to correct a psychopath's grammar." Kristoff chided in confusion.

"But that doesn't sound like the correct response," Elsa continued, undeterred. "If I asked you if you were scared, you would probably say yes or no. In fact, it sounds like he's having a different conversation entirely. And Anna asked him variations of the same thing before he spoke. Why did he say that and why did he say it then?"

"Perhaps he was under stress. He was holding an entire party hostage," Kristoff pointed out, feeling this was a waste of time. "I suspect he had other things on his mind."

"Except he didn't flinch when fighting Marshall," Olaf argued with the beginnings of an idea sprouting. "And, hold on."

Digging through his pockets, Olaf retrieved the cell phone which had been delivered to the Ice Palace. He had since examined the device and found that it wasn't capable of being used as a means of location, unlike the Palace itself which was apparently known of. There had been no activity on the phone in the past twenty-four hours, and hadn't been of enough interest after Olaf's description to be fully considered. It was just a cheap phone bought from any Walmart or Costco in the city.

Now, however, it appeared Olaf had remembered an important detail. Something which had been neglected the first time he had recalled the strange call. Not an answer could be retrieved from him until he had plugged the phone into his laptop.

"Just listen to this," He instructed them, with enough purpose to cause Elsa to turn around. "I'm going to play back the phone call, because-…"

With a static _crackle_ the speakers pulsed into life and two voices echoed into earshot. Olaf jumped up and down the recording, trying to find the crucial detail. In the meantime, Elsa merely listened to excerpts from the surprising correspondence the Knight had provided.

"Listen from here." Olaf told them once he was satisfied he'd found the right bit.

"_Oh, well, you might say that, however I'd like to point out that it was your friend who did the deed in the end-…" _The recording of the Knight delivered in an even, carefully paced tone. _"…-Speaking of your friend, I should perhaps move straight onto business."_

In the middle of this line, lying over the copy of the Knight's words, was the hissed accusation of Olaf as he reminded the villain of his exact role. The Knight simply continued speaking as if he hadn't heard Olaf, despite the fact Kristoff and Elsa could both clearly hear him.

"How did the Knight speak last night?" Olaf asked, excited over his potentially all-encompassing explanation of the strange behaviour.

"With his voice-modifier," Elsa answered, reliving the moment his electric speech had boomed into the audience. A fact, possibly the same one Olaf had realised, clicked with her. "Over the speakers."

A new round of evidence suddenly revealed itself, and threw the first real lead they had on how to find the Knight. The thought, as it fully materialised, terrified Elsa when she saw the link. Unfortunately, Kristoff had missed the crucial detail.

"What is it?" He asked, not liking the exclusion of his abilities.

"Think about it," Elsa urged, standing up as adrenaline pulsed through her bloodstream. "The Knight only spoke over the speakers, be it in the ballroom or over the phone. He acted like he didn't hear Olaf mid-speech and his answers never exactly fitted the questions."

Finally, Kristoff understood as well. "So everything he said was pre-recorded. Did he really guess everything we were going to say?"

"Most of it. Obviously when he was on the phone he was using speech recognition software so he didn't overlap with my responses," Olaf thought aloud, watching the projection more intensely now. "He kept his parts very open, so I could slot in my bits, but he didn't account for interruptions. And then he had a few stock phrases prepared when he stormed the _Lumiere_ so he could continue the charade!"

"This proves the Knight I killed wasn't the actual Knight." Elsa put forward, swallowing the twinge of deep remorse she felt at the thought of murdering the wrong person.

With this exclamation, Olaf joined Kristoff in confusion. They could each see how the use of scripted conversations added to the evidence of the mistaken identity, along with the use of the gun and shattering sword, but they could not put any certainty on it. Fortunately, they didn't need to prompt Elsa further for her to explain her reasoning.

"Everything about last night was fake," Elsa stated, pausing the projection at a point where the entire scene in the ballroom was visible. "The guns, the voice, the lack of an escape route. This was incredibly sloppy. It was a pantomime. And the Knight wouldn't put himself in this much danger. Besides, he could dominate a hostage situation without hired muscle. He's been playing a game and watching the results. He told Olaf that much. All he wanted to do was find out that I'm the Snow Queen."

"Yeah, but how can you know with any certainty that the Knight wasn't weakened by the wound you gave him?" Kristoff questioned, wondering if Elsa's half-described theory was iron-clad.

"Because he wouldn't be wounded in the first place," Elsa went on. "He's got a suit which withstood several gunshots when he attacked the convoy. Even if he changed materials, he's fast enough to catch an icicle. He caught Rapunzel's punch without even looking at her. But that's not the major detail."

"What is it, then?"

"Think about it," Elsa urged. She briefly wondered whether Pabbie would have inferred the same truth from her observations. If her friends didn't get it, she realised she could be wrong. "The Knight recorded stock phrases to say on the stage. But he also recorded everything he said to Olaf on the phone, and Olaf was called just before the Knight appeared at the _Lumiere_."

"I feel dizzy." Olaf commented, his head spinning in little circles at the repetition of facts they just covered.

"Why would the Knight bother with recording a phone conversation? Why didn't he just call Olaf live from just before his entrance? And if that was a double on stage, he could have called from literally anywhere in the city without bothering about the recording. So _why_ did he prepare a tape?"

"Oh my God," Kristoff stood to attention as the penny dropped. He had to back into a bookcase for support when the realisation hit him. "The Knight _was _there."

Elsa nodded eagerly, whilst Olaf voiced his misunderstanding. "But, I thought, it was a fake?"

"It was a fake Knight on stage," Elsa concluded, catching her breath. "But the real Knight was a guest at the Westerguard Ball."

As one, the small team turned to projected image. The video had resumed, showing roughly half of the assembled guests as the thugs hounded them into the centre of the room. Knowing now that they had stood with the White Knight, spoken to him, and never realised he was there made Elsa feel sick. They had narrowed the field quite considerably. But that still left at least sixty possibilities as to who the Knight could be.

"Kristoff, next chance you get I want to look at all the witness statements from last night," Elsa ordered as she shook off the initial shock. "We've got to find anything which could indicate any knowledge. The Knight will have figured out what he was going to say beforehand, just like the rest, but there must be some hints. Anything that will indicate prior knowledge or any weird details in the statement or even if they were too calm."

"Elsa," Kristoff started, but he was ignored as she continued issuing instructions in a flurry of strategic planning.

"Olaf, if you can, trace that phone. Get transaction details from every store for the last month if you have to," Her tempo was increasing sharply as more and more occurred to her. They had finally found a chink in the Knight's shield and she was determined to get as much out of it. "Then run that information against the bank records of all the guests. If that's possible."

"Elsa." Kristoff pressed, albeit whilst he kept a respectful distance. He had seen her in this state of panic only once before, and on that occasion she'd nearly brought the roof of Pabbie's makeshift lab down. He was deathly worried that she might fall to that extreme again.

"If what he said to Olaf is true, and I'm not inclined to believe it, he's close to finding out that I'm the Snow Queen. We need to increase security everywhere. Make the Ice Palace impenetrable. I'll have to hire guards for this place. Anything. We've got to find him before he finds us."

Before Kristoff could once more try to break through Elsa's manic strategizing, something else entirely cut through the rising tension. Acting on her instructions, Olaf had begun to scan through the cell phone for a third time in an attempt to hack its network and retrieve whatever contract information he could. It was whilst he was doing this that they were all interrupted by the cheery bells of the cell phone. Several seconds elapsed as they each considered the bizarre timing of the call; although they were also all aware that only one person had the number. Which presented a dilemma when Kristoff sent Elsa a dissuading gaze urging her to ignore it.

However, Elsa followed the trend she'd been setting the entire day. She stared back at Kristoff for a few more rings of the cell phone, and then motioned for Olaf to turn on the voice modifier from his laptop and answer the call on speaker.

"Is this who I think it will be?" She asked in a theatrically hard tone, as if trying to convince the caller she wasn't scared whilst indicating the contrary.

"_Hark! The herald angels sing! Greetings to the snowy Queen!" _The unmistakable pixelated rasp of the Knight responded. Naturally, the three grew sceptical as to whether this was the true knight or yet another trick. Regardless of this, there was a general consensus to not reveal the small advantage they'd found. _"How is Your Majesty today? I trust you came to no harm?"_

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Elsa answered through gritted teeth.

"_Wonderful. And please send my regards to Mr Hansen on how he solved the problem I presented him with, and to Mr Bjorgman for getting the esteemed aristocracy of our fair city out of the hotel. Well done, men!"_

Elsa's eyes swivelled to Kristoff, then Olaf, then back to the phone. Both of them looked grim.

"What do you want?"

"_What all men want this time of year. A happy Christmas. To be festive and jolly, with mistletoe and holly, and other items ending with 'olly'."_ The Knight teased. Elsa didn't like this. She was used to the Knight being serious, but now he was acting frivolous. Which meant he thought he was in control. _"But tonight, well, I simply can't wait. So I thought I might give you an early present."_

"You're going to leave for Siberia?"

"_Ha-ha. No, not quite. I was thinking we should parlay tonight. Meet more formally than we have previously. And since I am an accommodating man, you pick the time and place."_

Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw Kristoff shake his head. Disapproval was etched into every line of his face.

"How about Arendelle Park?" Elsa suggested, choosing the widest open space which could not be linked too easily to the Noble family. She didn't want to give away any of her secrets while she had a lead on the Knight. "Beside the pond. About midnight."

"_You could not have chosen a better setting. It is positively sublime, my liege," _The Knight complimented, despite the poisonous edge in the closing of the sentence. _"Normally I would suggest we each respect the other's security and come unarmed, but I daresay this is impossible for you. Until we meet at midnight, my Queen."_

With this, the line cut out and they listened to a buzzing silence before Olaf turned the speakers off. Even then, the quiet that held them lasted much longer than it probably needed to, although it was unclear what was to be taken from this exchange. This was behaviour they'd never expected from the Knight. True, they had seen him approach others before. He had, of course, reached out to the Stabbingtons when he required assistance and had later taken advantage of Rapunzel's presence to deal with Marshmallow. But on this occasion it did not exactly appear that the Snow Queen could render him any service in any conceivable way. What, then, was his ulterior motive? He hadn't even attempted to disguise the fact he was bringing a weapon. Was it possible he really was trying to establish a professional dialogue?

"Well he seemed nice." Kristoff deadpanned after the unnatural calm became too much. "You're not seriously going to meet him, are you?"

Elsa rubbed her eyes in thought. If she were to be honest, the Knight's dig at her inability to divide herself from her powers had cut straight through to her nerves.

"I think it would be beneficial." She simply stated, looking to her wristwatch. It was only just coming around to six o'clock. She almost wished she'd arranged an earlier time, and get the rendezvous out of the way.

"Yeah, very beneficial. The perfect time for him to kill you!" Kristoff was unable to believe that Elsa was willing to give this a chance. To him, she appeared insane, bent on stopping this man to the point she was throwing caution to the wind and ignoring all the peripherals that normally limited her actions.

"We're meeting at the park. We'll be surrounded by snow. If the worst comes to the worst, I'll freeze him," Elsa assured, herself silently questioning her wisdom. She decided she couldn't let on her insecurities this time. If she was going to figure out how to stop the Knight, she had to be certain of everything she did. Starting now. "Look, this is the closest we've gotten to him _ever_. We may be able to learn far more from this meeting than we have in four months of research. I mean, we've figure out more in the last half-hour. This could be the key."

"Elsa, you've got to consider all the facts," Kristoff implored, growing ever-frustrated by her uncharacteristic one-mindedness. "You heard him just then; he thinks he's got all the cards. What makes you think he didn't make those mistakes last night on purpose? He could just be trying to scare you, to throw you off, and then lull you into false security."

Before Elsa could retort further, potentially heating up the discussion dangerously, a second ringtone began to cry out. This time, however, it was not the Knight's phone but Elsa's own cell. It took her a surprising amount of time to recognise it, and when she finally retrieved it from her pocket the caller ID gave her reason to pause. It was Belle. Rather than answer there and then, Elsa let it ring out and made an effort not to let Kristoff or Olaf see who it was.

"Alright. We have six hours. We can plan it through. If the Knight can predict and control a conversation then we can have a go at it as well," Elsa tried to meet Kristoff halfway, although he was still exasperated at her determination to talk to the villain. "Ad hopefully he won't try to kill me. It is Christmas."

"Just be careful, Elsa." Olaf quietly begged.

This only caused Elsa to look away out of guilt.

* * *

The Arendelle Park was remarkably unchanged since her previous visit, with the most obvious example of this being that all three snowmen were still standing. As Elsa glided through the freshly fallen blanket of snow she was able to make this out as the most obvious landmark and even stopped to inspect the structures. Their longevity, as it became apparent by the more luminous sheen to their surfaces, owed mostly to the overnight dip in temperature which had hardened them. They were mostly ice now.

Rather than carry on to the pre-arranged rendezvous, Elsa planted herself firmly in the midst of her friends' (and Hans) sculptures. She was not going to play entirely into the Knight's hands. She did not want to walk into another trap.

However, when the church tower struck midnight in the distance, a voice promptly began speaking from directly behind her. Needless to say in her attentive and watchful state, Elsa jumped around in surprise.

"I had a bet with myself that you would stop here," The harsh static voice began, while the visor somehow communicated the Knight's boredom. "I won."

Before the sentence was over, Elsa had produced a long icicle in each hand; one of which she pointed dangerously at the Knight's neck. If he was like any other person, there would be a jugular directly underneath the point of the ice, with only a single layer protecting it. Elsa had never tested whether her constructs could pierce the military-standard material which they both wore, but after all he'd put her through she was more than willing to try.

"Put your sword on the floor." She hissed, applying pressure to the makeshift blade she was wielding.

"Oh, come now, your majesty," The Knight patronisingly implored, calmly placing his gloved hand on the grip of his weapon. "That's hardly fair. I may as well not even have it with me, seeing as we are literally in your element. From what I've seen, you could turn this entire park against me."

That was true. But that would require more concentration than Elsa could muster as this moment in time. She was absolutely furious with the White Knight, for all the atrocities he had committed so far. Being face-to-face with him had made all of her anger rise back to the surface in surprising force. And the fact he was trying to control her even now was making her rage grow even further.

"Put the sword on the floor." She spat with a voice that did not belong to her. It was eerily similar to the creak of a mountaintop before the roar of an avalanche. A dim part of her conscience was terrified by it.

But it seemed to work. The White Knight raised his left hand in surrender whilst he unfastened the scabbard from his belt. Elsa watched with a quiet sense of victory as the sword dropped unceremoniously into the foot of snow beside them.

"Are you happy now?" The Knight asked, to which Elsa paused and then nodded. "Good, so am I."

Elsa felt a sharp sting suddenly bit into her chest, at the point where her ribs met the soft expanse of her stomach. It hurt no more than a papercut and as far she could feel no blood had been spilt. But when she glanced down she found that the Knight had quickly levelled the plain. In the few moments when he had dropped the sword, when Elsa had foolishly been looking away, he had produced a slim dagger, seemingly out of thin air, which he was now holding against her diaphragm. From the small ebb of pain, it was needless to say that the Knight had penetrated the suit which could stop bullets with a silent ease.

"You needn't look so surprised, my liege," The Knight said when she was about to throw a string of curses against him. "This was always going to happen. At least we both have insurance against our respective murders now. So tell me, is there anything you want to know?"

For a moment, Elsa wondered what would happen if she simply drove forward with her icicle. If the point was sharp, she may be able to cut through to his neck after all and put an end to this man. Although that would get her nowhere. It would allow her to unmask him, but would give her no more information on why he was operating in such a peculiar manner. It was unlikely his identity would explain why he had stolen the GDU or had tested FRZ-52 on Marshall. She may not even know who he was if she saw his face. Besides, he could still kill her in the time it took for the blood loss to weaken him. And Elsa had to remind herself that she was not going to kill someone out of anger. It had been enough of a concession in her morals to end Marshall's suffering.

"How many of you are there?" Was the question Elsa eventually settled on. It would be good to know if the White Knight was a single person or a group using a shared alter ego. The latter would be far worse.

"You noticed that the man at the Lumiere was a fake, and that he was so the entire time," The Knight seemed proud that she had worked it out. "You are more observant than I gave you credit for. But you can put what frightens you to bed, for there is only one of me. There are doppelgangers, yes, but I am the genuine article. Unless I'm lying, that is."

"And you have more confederates than that," Elsa thought aloud in an attempt to intimidate him. "You were able to get a hold of FRZ-52. You have a small army at your beckon call. And you knew the GDU was being delivered. So people are informing you and you must have money to hire enough men to hold up a ball."

"Yes, your grace, I have my allies as you do," He verified like it was obvious. "I only need a few people in each institution and they can be held by what I know. And as far as money is concerned, I can have my allies fund anything I want."

"And are any of these allies in the Tung Shao Pass?"

The single quick question managed to throw the Knight off. Elsa could feel the tip of the knife against her chest lessen in pressure for a second before it returned, steady as ever. Whatever was in the Tung Shao Pass scared the Knight.

"A very few," The White Knight answered with slower tempo to his words. "I must give you credit for knowing that. Perhaps Li Shang was more liberal with that information than I thought he would be. "

Now it was Elsa's turn to be scared. After all, there were only so many people in Arendelle who had known Li Shang. It would not be difficult for the Knight to narrow his search if he was still yet to find out who the Snow Queen was.

"You know Shang?" She asked in a very carefully neutral voice.

"We have crossed paths before. He and my master are old enemies," He revealed with the implication of his tone being that he would say no more about whoever was in the Pass. "Li Shang deserves compliment for his skill, although his choice of pupil is questionable."

"Does that mean you were trained in China? Are you acting on your master's instructions?"

"My royal majesty, you are getting off topic," The Knight deflected, surprisingly eager to get away from the intrusive questions concerning his superiors. "I opened this dialogue to give you some warning. And that warning is thus: _run and hide_."

Even through his pixelated tones it was clear the warning was dripping with contempt. This was the first time Elsa had heard the Knight drop to less than cordial verbal behaviour. Whenever he had made other threats he had spoken calmly, even politely. Now, on the other hand, those three words made him seem feral. He may have protected Anna from a misfire in that Riverside alley, but now his better qualities had vanished.

"What are you going to do?"

"If you get out of my way, then nothing," Elsa didn't believe this claim. There was a snarling animal underneath that mask. A venomous snake, even. Trying to tempt her. "My liege, I exist only to combat you. I am only in Arendelle because you are in Arendelle. This is ground zero for us. This is the site of our battle. And only one of us can continue to rule. All this city needs is one person to protect it and it is my firm belief that _I _am its saviour. You, your majesty, are the villain."

Elsa could not believe a single word she was hearing. The very idea of the Knight wanting to save Arendelle was ridiculous to her.

"You must be kidding," She voiced, her anger raising a field of stalagmites behind her. "You're a killer; you've admitted it yourself. That's not protection. For God's sake, you mutated Marshall Hansen into that thing. You destroyed a convoy. How are you anymore the hero than I am?"

"Because the people I killed had perverted the natural order," The Knight countered, his arrogant and impenetrable countenance reassembling itself. "I stole the GDU because it is a weapon I cannot trust in the hands of others. I killed the people transporting it because otherwise they would have killed me. And I infected Mr Hansen with your FRZ-52 to demonstrate the danger you pose to this city. Besides, look at those I haven't killed. Last night was done just to draw you out. That was your first chance. Now, I am giving you one more. Therefore; end your operation by Christmas Eve or I will find your little base and destroy you, along with everything you have corrupted with your disease!"

All of a sudden, the Knight withdrew his dagger and stepped away from Elsa. He drew the sword from the snow as he retreated; although she felt his eyes never leave hers. She watched as he trod his way backwards through the drifts, until he stood beside the snowman she and Anna had constructed the other day.

"Don't think I don't know how you care for the Nobles." The Knight warned lowly, flashing his sword and sweeping it through the powdery figure.

With gritted teeth, in retaliation, Elsa multiplied the cloud of snow the Knight had flung at her and threw it back at him in a steady, powerful onslaught. The blizzard raged forward, blotting out all sight ahead of her.

When she finally dropped the storm; he was gone.

* * *

**Please Review.**


	29. The Man in White - Part Four

**This is slightly more like it. At least it hasn't taken me another three months to get this done. I've missed this.**

**Anyway, enough self-reflection, I have big news. After many months of promising another story and subsequently procrastinating to the extreme, I am pleased to announce that the excellent JJAndrews has taken over the writing of **_**The Vigilantes of Corona**_** and he's already posted a few chapters for it. So go check that out, enjoy, and leave a review. I think it's going to be a fun story.**

**But wait, there's more! In addition to the story of Flynn and Rapunzel being told in parallel, the wonderful Victory Goddess is going to be bringing us a brand new story set in the same universe. There's not much I can say so far, but to all those who've wanted to see Merida make an appearance I urge you to keep an eye out for **_**The Archer of Dunbroch**_**, coming to a fanfiction on the internet soon.**

**So yeah, I'm pretty excited about all this and I hope all of you are too. Yowza. **

**A big thank you to all my reviewers and those who welcomed me back after a shocking absence. Loved reading your feedback (especially TeamArendelle, who gave a great review of Anna. I hope to explain her behaviour at some point) and I hope you enjoy the new chapter. **

* * *

"So what are we gonna do?" Olaf asked as he and Elsa walked into the Noble Tower the next morning. "Are we really going to follow_ his_ instructions? Tell me you remember how he tricked me and Rapunzel?"

These were all thoughts which had already occurred to Elsa in some form during the night. After the less than productive meeting on the park, there was very little else which occupied her mind. And upon returning to the Noble Estate she had spent a few hours talking to Kristoff about the problem. Nothing he said differed very much from what Olaf was saying now or what she told herself when she should have been sleeping. Meanwhile, as her team was going around in circles of theory, the White Knight was acting on his plans. He was preparing to play his hand. And he had all but revealed he held a royal flush.

Nothing of any material use had been added to her notes from this dialogue. True, the Knight had explicitly confirmed a connection to the man in the Tung Shao Pass. But this didn't really solve any of the underlying questions as to his purpose in Arendelle, other than his claim of wanting to destroy her. That was assumed from the beginning, though. Ever since he picked Marshall as his test subject for FRZ-52. However, surely the Knight must have set his sights higher than merely taking out the Snow Queen. Because otherwise, what was the point of stealing the GDU? Perhaps the GDU was merely a contract theft, although it was unlikely the Knight would go to such trouble as to keep the Snow Queen out of the way whilst he made his move if it only of muted significance. No, the Knight was definitely planning something bigger. All he was doing at the moment was trying to scare her away.

This had led to the monstrous reveal that he would go after Anna if necessary. He had been entirely correct to say she cared for the Nobles, although she was paranoid of exactly how much he knew. His use of lumping her and Anna together suggested that he didn't know Elsa and the Snow Queen were one. Even if he assumed she was just concerned with Anna, he must have been aware of all three times the Snow Queen had tried to protect the redhead. The incident in that Riverside Alleyway stood out as the main evidence of this awareness. But she couldn't shake the feeling that the Knight knew, and was just playing with her.

"I don't know," Elsa shamefully admitted as they crossed the over-decorated lobby. It was a wonder that Goddard could be so concerned with company expenditure when he approved the idea to more or less redesign the first three floors into a winter wonderland. "We have to bear in mind that he does keep to his promises, however loosely. The Stabbingtons could vouch for that, if we ever track them down."

"Do you mean you're going to listen to him?" Olaf asked with an air of respectful scepticism. "You can't give it up now!"

At his exclamation, many passers-by shot them a curious glance. Realising the embarrassing mistake, Olaf covered his mouth with both hands and remained silent until he was sure everyone had carried on with what they were doing.

"We're talk more about it in my office," Elsa advised under her breath. She stopped at the reception desk and picked up a schedule from the first available employee. Despite the constant references to her having a secretary, she had never met anyone officially appointed to that role and instead received a fairly accurate plan of what business needed attending on each day. Although, on this particular, Elsa was discouraged when she turned around to head for the elevator and instead met one of the last people she wanted to see on Christmas Eve. "Oh Lord."

Having somehow snuck up behind them in the brief interval, Elsa was met with the unsightly smile of Goddard. He must have gone all out with his Christmas bonus (which he decided the value of himself), seeing as today he had arrived in what was obviously a brand new, burgundy suit. Elsa wasn't sure what effect he was going for in that. The sheer size and colour of him made him resemble a beardless Santa Claus in a no doubt expensive, but colour clashing tie.

"Elsa, I'm glad I found you," He said without sounding particular pleased at locating her at all. "There's been a change of plan with today's board meeting. Jameson's called in sick so we're going to put off the review of the Dunbroch branch until the twenty-seventh."

"I was told that review couldn't wait." Elsa replied tersely. In all honesty, she was thrilled to not have a board meeting today, although she had to look like she cared. It was her belief that there was no problem with the Dunbroch branch of the company and making a review, inevitably with cuts following, was going to do more harm than good.

Goddard cast Olaf a wary eye, silently telling the younger man to step away, before he answered. Olaf, to his credit, respected his superior without betraying any dislike or fear of him, and went to call an elevator.

"The Dunbroch report never arrived last night," Goddard informed Elsa with an aggravated sigh. "Something about that freaking Archer and a bear got in the way of it being dispatched. That city's a mess anyway. I personally think we should withdraw and reallocate our savings."

"Mr Goddard," His immediate superior responded with the edge of a growl in her voice. "You will not change my opinion outside of the boardroom and I will not allow you to deprive an entire city of pharmaceuticals. And before you suggest we raise prices on benzodiazepines and anxiolytics instead, I think a much more effective and morally beneficial method of cost-cutting would be to lower your salary!"

The threat drew out the exact same face Elsa would have expected if she had denied sweets to a child. Goddard's scowl was sour, his eyes narrowing and his fists tightening into pudgy balls. Slowly, the colour of his face blended in to match his suit.

"Well," He said in an angry whisper. "I was hoping to compromise to reach a satisfying solution. But seeing as you're obviously on a monthly, I think I shall wait for the rest of the board to reconvene."

With that, he turned around and strode off across the lobby, leaving Elsa fuming in anger at his condescension. How dare he assume there was only one reason for why she was stressed. How dare he try to diminish her will in her family's company on that basis, and neglect her choice. How dare he.

Elsa was able to wrestle the scathing blizzard which was whirling through her veins back under control, but not before she allowed one slip of her grasp. A tiny patch of ice appeared in the floor of the lobby and it melted in the building's heat just as Goddard placed one foot onto it. Naturally, he slipped and fell onto a nearby sofa with a strangled yell of surprise. Everyone in the room momentarily stopped to investigate the source of the shriek, and Goddard now turned red from embarrassment from the unwanted attention on his mistake. Satisfied with her sly retaliation, Elsa stepped into the elevator Olaf was holding, and waited for his laughter to die down before resuming the conversation concerning more pressing matters.

"How are we going to tackle this?" Elsa asked out loud, hoping that Olaf would supply an answer which hadn't already been thought of.

"I don't know. What was his actual ultimatum?" Olaf answered rather sheepishly. The feeling of helplessness which consumed him was disturbingly similar to what he felt when faced with the issue of Marshall's mutation. He tried to suppress it, although the very thought of losing someone else to the White Knight made him freeze when thinking of ways to combat the threat.

Elsa tugged on the hems of her gloves, herself trying to keep in control in the face of such a precarious position. "He said if I, that is the Snow Queen, disappeared, then so would he. And if the Snow Queen doesn't disappear then he's going to find the Ice Palace, kill anyone in there, and then come for me and Anna."

Olaf put his head in his hands as he though the dilemma over. From personal experience, he wouldn't trust the Knight's offer of cooperation any further than he could throw the villain. Even if he did honour the fact that the Snow Queen might vanish, Olaf would have bet considerable money that the Knight would continue to work in secret. Although, to Olaf, this begged the question of why the Knight wanted to get rid of the Snow Queen _now_ if he was going to continue whatever his grand plan was. Could it be that Elsa was too close to something important to the Knight? Olaf thought the choice over again, replaying Elsa's words like a soundbite in his head, and then realised something else.

"Wait, the Knight said he would find the Ice Palace? Were those his words?"

"Yes?" Elsa gradually confirmed, making sure she was remembering the conversation correctly. "Yes, he did."

"But our hotline to him was dropped off at the door of the Palace!" Olaf pointed out, then he slapped himself on the forehead when more details slotted into place in his mind. "And he was actually at the ball when it was delivered! It can't have been him that dropped it off, or any of his thugs, if he doesn't know where the Ice Palace is!"

The theory seemed to hold with Elsa. Following Olaf's premise and general scepticism of the White Knight's, it appeared reasonable to assume that the madman's passing reference to the Ice Palace betrayed his ignorance of where it was actually positioned. However, while this did imply a modicum of safety, it presented the terrifying question of who delivered the phone. To Elsa's knowledge there were only six people wo knew where to find the Snow Queen's base of operations, and two of them lived halfway across the country.

"It's not me!" Olaf was quick to deny as they exited the elevator on the top floor and made their way towards Elsa's office.

"And it can't be Kristoff. He was at the ball with me the entire time," Elsa reasoned on Kristoff's behalf. "Which only leaves-…"

Elsa promptly cut her sentence short as she opened the door to her office and realised that there was an uncomfortable presence already inside. Six months ago, she wouldn't have batted an eyelid at this kind of intrusion. Even in the last few weeks, she wouldn't have really objected to his presence. But today, just as she was about to verbally accuse him of treachery, Elsa was mortified to find Ernest Pabbie standing at her office window, admiring the view of Arendelle beyond the glass.

Hearing the entrance and the end of a cut-of sentence, Pabbie turned around and gave out an audible sigh of relief at the sight of Elsa in the doorway. To the familiar eye, it was at one clear that the old man bordered on being unfit to come into work. His skin was greyer than usual and his clothes were crumpled; he hadn't even bothered to flatten the back of his lab coat collar. Rather than having his relaxed, oft self-assured stance, he seemed to have stooped quite considerably and had his shoulder completely tense as if he were ready to go into a scrum with opponents a quarter of his age. Most striking of all, however, were the heavy bags which had formed under his eyes in the last two days. It seriously looked like he could fall asleep at any moment, a quality which became all the more pronounced a he was satisfied at Elsa's presence.

"Thank God," He audibly muttered as Elsa and Olaf stepped fully into the room. "You're alive."

With a marked sense of suspicion, Elsa lightly trod her way across the room to meet her former adviser. She was careful to stay just outside of arm's reach of him, a fact that didn't appear to be lost on Pabbie as he twice tried to close the distance.

"Yes, of course we're alive," Elsa answered slowly; eyeing a copy of yesterday's which sat on her desk. It must have been Pabbie's seeing as she wasn't aware of anyone else coming into her office during her absence. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"Naturally, the situation at the _Lumiere _was in the news," Pabbie explained, picking up the paper and unfolding it to show the main article concerning the scene at the Westerguard Ball. "I read that a body had been found, and when no mention was made of you in the article nor did you come into work yesterday, I began to worry."

"Couldn't you have just called her?" Olaf asked cluelessly. He should have been aware that Elsa had been largely ignoring Pabbie's calls when not on official company business, although neither of them deigned to correct him.

"If you must know, it was the White Knight who died," Elsa answered, seeing if the namedrop would elicit an appropriate reaction. Pabbie simply looked confused by the mention. "Or one of the White Knights. Surely he's been reported."

With a curious shrug, Pabbie scanned the pages before shaking his head; "There's no mention of a 'White Knight' in this paper. And he hasn't been spoken of on any of the News channels."

Shocked by this information, Elsa snatched the day-old issue from the old man and read the article herself. Then she flipped through the pages with an increasingly outraged scowl growing across her face. Pabbie was right; there was no mention of the White Knight. Not even a description of his armour. The entire fiasco had been pinned on a group of mercenaries acting for an unknown party, and when the article reached the point where the fake Knight's body had been discovered it was merely said that one of the thugs had fallen off the roof during an escape. Somehow, despite the overwhelming evidence of the Knight's influence in the events, he had still managed to edit himself out of any report which would reveal his existence.

"Who's this White Knight?" Pabbie asked once Elsa had thrown the paper away in anger. His obliviousness to the Knight in the past may have been understandable, given he had abandoned the Snow Queen crusade before Kristoff had showed them the highway footage, but Elsa still found the fact Pabbie had conveniently left the _Lumiere_ before the thugs marched in a little strange.

"Olaf, do you still have that cell phone on you?" Elsa ignored Pabbie's questions, and much of his presence, until Olaf had handed over the cheap phone. Then she held it out in front of Pabbie's face. "Do you recognise this?"

"It is, as you say, a cell phone." The old man observed, his face growing frustrated as he realised Elsa was trying to interrogate him.

"But this particular one? Have you seen it before?"

To his credit, when Pabbie denied ever laying eyes on the cell phone before this moment, there was no betraying twitch or nervous avoidance of eye contact. He acted as Elsa had always known him to, albeit with an increasing sense of insulted dignity which made his aura of ill-health gradually fade. From this, Elsa could assume without being fully convinced that he had not seen the phone before.

"What about when you left the _Lumiere _the other night?" Elsa went on, unwilling to allow him even a second to think up a potential lie. "Where did you go? Did you go the Ice Palace?"

"No, I went to my usual hotel, not too far away from this building," Pabbie vehemently responded instantly. "I have no idea what I'm being accused of but if my location at certain times is in question I suggest you consult the check in time at the _Hilton_."

Elsa ran a gloved hand through her bangs and gritted her teeth. The _Hilton_ would have been in the exact opposite direction to the Ice Palace, and if Pabbie was so willing to tell them to investigate his time of arrival, then it was unlikely there would be a significant delay between him leaving the Ball and arriving at his hotel.

"Then have you told anyone, at all, where the Palace is?" Elsa pressed, desperate to get to the bottom of who delivered the phone so she could evaluate the security of her base.

At the insinuation, Pabbie returned to the grumpy, morally offended disposition he had adopted when Rapunzel had been resurrected. His back straightened, his fatigue vanished, and his brow furrowed. Memories of that first night she had angered him returned to Elsa. She almost regretted doing it again.

"Elsa, I don't know what you've been up to since I departed your hobby. I don't know what kind of enemies you've made in that time. But I have not betrayed any of your secrets," Pabbie argued with the exasperation of a parent repeating the same statement over and over again. "I have done my best to keep them. I made a promise to your parents to watch out for you, so do not assume I would be cavalier enough to reveal where you hide."

With that, Pabbie marched out of the office without looking back. In his wake, Elsa stood as still as a sculpture for a few moments as she wrestled back stray emotions at the mention of her parents before she went to her desk. She pocketed the cell phone on her way, making sure that Olaf didn't spot the subterfuge and quickly distracting him once she had sat in her chair.

"That did not go well," Olaf quietly commented, leaning on the opposite side of her desk. "What do we do now?"

"Right now, I have business to attend to," Elsa responded without looking up from her schedule. It seemed the most productive thing she could do at the moment, even if she shuddered when she read that a representative from the Mayor's office had arranged a meeting with her. "But, Olaf, I need you to do a few things for me."

"Sure!" After all the dead ends he had faced in the last few days, Olaf was glad to be met with directions on how to combat the situation. "Anything!"

"First, can you call Kristoff and tell him to meet us at the Ice Palace tonight. About ten o'clock; I have to check on Anna first," Elsa listed, finalising her much larger scheme to ensure the only threat would be to her personally. "And then I need you to check the firewalls on all the personal computers we use. Our phones, the Ice Palace computers, even the ones we use here," She patted a hand on her desktop as if Olaf, the IT graduate, did not know what she meant. "Our mystery courier has tracked us down somehow, and I can only assume it's been through the network."

Olaf's eyes rolled a few times as he made sure his mental checklist was accurate, and then he gave a thumbs up and literally ran off. Elsa considered herself fortunate he had not realised she was keeping the cell phone.

* * *

Upon entering his lab two floors below Elsa's office, Pabbie knew almost automatically that he wasn't alone. In the last few months he'd just taken it as a given fact. More often than not, he would find the door to the workspace already unlocked and the lights would be dimmed dramatically. Of course, this also may have been due to the fact that Pabbie had moved most of his work to a communal laboratory lower in the building. This room had just turned into a meeting spot more than anything.

"To what do I owe the pleasure this time?" Pabbie confidently said to the shadowy corners. He'd learnt on the first instance of this arrangement that the blinds were not to be let up.

By force of habit, he refused to look into any of the corners. Refused to show fear and suspicion. There was really no point. Goddard and Weselton might complain about _his_ intrusive tendencies but Pabbie understood this was part of the deal. Trust no one, and make sure there was no chance for a mistake.

"God rest ye merry gentleman," The White Knight advised as he stepped forward from the dark, taking gentle, cat-like steps around the circumference of the room until he was in Pabbie's line of sight. "There's nothing to worry about on this occasion. I only wanted to tell you that our meeting for tonight has been cancelled."

The hair on the back of Pabbie's neck bristled. It was unlike the Knight to abandon a pre-arranged seminar was unheard of, and reserved only for the direst of circumstances. Even on the day Marshall Hansen attacked Riverside, the Knight had only put the gathering back a few hours. With this in mind, there was only one explanation Pabbie could offer.

"You're continuing your pursuit of the Snow Queen?" He asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.

"I would not be a good soldier if I neglected my mission," The Knight answered, standing resolute although the old man did not doubt his conviction. "She's grown too big. She is a weed. And she needs to be cut off at the roots before she stumbles onto our trail. Drastically, if Goddard continues to attempt a coup within this building. I trust you have disguised your intent from Miss Noble?"

"It's your intent," Pabbie argued, putting his foot down at this accusation. "And I'm doing everything I can to stop Goddard from getting ahead of himself."

Drawing his sword, the Knight let it glimmer in a small ray of light which had pierced the blind. Surprisingly, though, nothing was broken and no one was threatened to coerce Pabbie into taking back his statement. After only a few seconds of twisting the blade in mid-air, the sword was sheathed and the Knight acted as if there had been no interruption.

"We would not need to stall Goddard if you simply started work," The Knight pointed out, having moved beyond all other forms of persuasion to simple conversation, for the moment anyway. "Months ago, you said you couldn't do anything because the plans were in Miss Noble's hard drive. George Jones got those plans. Yet you still refuse to use them."

"I have told you," Pabbie repeated for what he could only assume was the hundredth time this month alone. "I will not find it necessary to begin until you get that goddamn machine working. Only then will I find my role an imperative."

A noise which could be equivocal to a huff of exasperation escaped that helmet. But Pabbie knew that the Knight did not express such minor emotions. No, he only dealt in extremes, and there was a chance he was saving his anger for elsewhere.

"Nevertheless," The Knight went on, striding back along his earlier path. "We will not have time to activate the GDU if the Snow Queen grows any more notorious. So rest, merry gentleman. But do not think you have escaped your duty. Remember that I can afford to eliminate Anna Noble if you continue to disregard your end of the bargain. I'd rather not, but if I have to I will."

In weeks past, that threat was becoming ever more used. And every time the Knight brought it up, the best Pabbie could hope for was that his silence would satisfy the megalomaniac. It did this time.

"Now, I have other places to be. I am a busy man," The White Knight said, now hidden just over Pabbie's shoulder. "So I shall leave the discussion for when we are all together in the New Year. From past experience, I think it might be wise for your work ethic to be modified as a resolution."

Counting slowly, Pabbie allowed two minutes to elapse before he turned around. His withered hand tightened into a fist whilst he waited, pounding lightly on the metal surface in front of him to mark out the seconds. When he finally turned around the Knight was long gone.

* * *

On this, one of the most sacred days in the Christian calendar and a pretty nice public holiday for everyone who didn't observe the festival, it may be expected that crime would rest and the workload would be easy. There'd be gingerbread men and plenty of hot cocoa, perhaps jolly music in the background. And decorations. Every place of work should be decorated with the usual articles; tinsel, baubles, and mistletoe.

Why then, Kristoff asked himself, had he chosen to be a police officer in Arendelle? He could have worked in Arcadia, or any other relaxed town. But no, he chose Arendelle, where the police force almost exclusively hunted a vigilante and left most of the paperwork to the youngest official. Having such a thought could be childish, but Kristoff had to wonder why Sullivan and Wazowski got to investigate a car fire whilst he was stuck reviewing statements from the _Lumiere_ hostage situation. In fact, this was the one day of the year when all his fellow cops actually went out of their way to pursue the abundant cases. Thinking about it, they were probably hoping to inflate their Christmas bonuses at the last minute and the opportunity did present itself quite nicely, given there had been at least ten separate missing people's reports that morning.

But surely it was immoral to assign Kristoff all the witness statements because he had the least experience on the beat. Hell, it was definitely unethical that he was sat amongst these papers because he'd _been there_. This would leave him open to allegations of tampering with evidence, but if he refused then he could be suspended for insubordination. Whatever show Captain Latimer was trying to run, it was very lacklustre.

Of course, no one had seen Captain Latimer in days. His booked days of leave had miraculously fallen over Christmas and so he'd been able to ignore the festive rise in both productivity and lawbreaking. Not even after the incident at the _Lumiere _had he appeared to make a statement. Kristoff was beginning to wonder what exactly the captain did in his time off, although no one else at the precinct had yet voiced any concern.

Then again, all his colleagues looked as if they'd rather finish for the day and get home. The precinct itself was very dreary through a lack of coordination and celebration. No one had bothered to get out decorations. There was a small Christmas tree in the corner of an interrogation room, a mug with Santa on it had been spotted in the sink, and there was a menorah on the desk opposite Kristoff's. Other than that, nothing.

The most fun the police force had managed, collectively, all day was when Kristoff put the Pogues on speaker for the guys in the drunk tank. Not exactly a stellar environment to perpetuate cheer and good will to all men.

This was why Kristoff was glad to be met with the opportunity to take a break from his work when the receptionist called him down. He'd been waiting on this excuse to get out of the office, even if it was only to return seized items. It quite frankly alarmed him when, glancing at the wall clock on his way by, he found it was only just coming around to one in the afternoon. He had four more hours of this yet. Then it would be straight down to the Ice Palace to decide on what their next step was concerning the Knight. The one thing Elsa had told him following her ill-advised meeting the night before was that they had to hide. Kristoff wasn't sure where this move had come and, to be honest, he was not sure he agreed with the decision.

The ever growing collection of problems facing the Snow Queen and her oft forgotten team had been giving Kristoff grief for the past twenty-four, and unfortunately many of them stemmed from Elsa's example of leadership. Now, the single claim to leadership Kristoff could ever boast about was when he had worked at a summer camp as an art teacher to make some extra money during his police training. He would be the first to admit that he had no experience with charging against the frequent dilemmas and risky decisions Elsa went to deal with nearly every night of the week. However, while he did not envy Elsa in the slightest, it was increasingly getting on his nerves that she was making very questionable choices these past few days. What happened in the ballroom couldn't have been avoided, true, but in his opinion Elsa shouldn't have followed the Knight up to the roof when she was in public without her suit. And having met the Knight, Kristoff could only assume that the conversation had taken a deadly turn if the Snow Queen was now trying to go back into the woodwork.

Most of all, though, Kristoff was just frustrated that Elsa was doing these things without listening to any advice. He could understand why she was in such frenzy about catching the Knight, he really could. But she wasn't prepared. The irony was, when Elsa ignored her fears she was much less careful about dealing with problems. Bordering on ruthless. And Kristoff could see that it would only be after her failure to stop the Knight that she would listen to him and Olaf. The problem was, they knew the Knight was formidable and, if he had the chance, would probably kill Elsa. So he may never get a chance to say 'I told you so'.

Of course, however he was going to convince Elsa to listen to him and Olaf would have to wait until the working day was over. For the time being he would have to corroborate witness testaments and take belongings out of the evidence locker and return them to the owners.

But the person he met at reception was not the one he had been expecting. No. Instead of Leiko Tanaka's semi-permanent scowl was the cheery, nervous smile of Anna Noble. Her presence couldn't be missed, with much of the attention being captured by her hazardously long multi-coloured scarf and a collection of bags with expensive shopping labels printed across their paper exteriors.

"What are you doing here?" He asked first and foremost upon realising she was at the precinct to talk to him rather than report any crime she might have encountered.

There wasn't really a good place to talk, and if Kristoff was caught using the waiting area for a personal conversation he'd never hear the end of it. Forget that most the time the city's officers lounged about upstairs, trying to beat the record for number of donuts in the mouth at one time (Sullivan had managed five Krispy Kreme's in one go, followed by a trip to the ER), it was the public shirking of duty which really caused a meltdown.

"Oh, well, I was just in the area doing some last minute Christmas shopping," Anna explained, trying to act nonchalant and failing horribly; mainly due to the fact she tripped over her scarf as she dragged him to one corner and her eyes kept flicking from his face, to anywhere in the room, then back to his face again. "And I was walking past this artsy shop when I remembered what you said the other day, while we were building snowmen, about you wanting to be an ice sculptor-…"

"A regular sculptor," Kristoff corrected without really thinking about it. He actually winced from the mental kick he gave himself. "But whatever."

"Yeah," Anna agreed, her cheeks reddening further than the cold had caused. "Well, I, erm… I saw this thing in the window and I thought 'Hey! I bet Kristoff would really like that!' So I, well… Happy holidays!"

In a motion which was probably meant to be one smooth one, but instead manifested as a series of awkward yankings at a box in one of the paper bags, Anna produced an expertly gift-wrapped present complete with a bow. She offered it to Kristoff with one hand, the apparent unbalanced weight of it causing her arm to shake. Shaking himself out of bemusement, he took it from her and carefully examined it.

Whatever the gift was, it was heavy. The dimensions of it were perplexing, seeing as it was only the length of Kristoff's forearm and about as wide as his hand span. More surprising still was that Anna had carried it all the way from wherever she had been shopping to the precinct, and had lifted it with only one arm while Kristoff needed both to keep it steady in his hands. He could only assume that it was made of stone, based on weight alone, and already he was worried about how expensive it had been. Anna, after all, didn't really have a concept of price.

"Right," Was all he could splutter as he considered just what Anna had done in the name of Christmas spirit. "Thank you, Anna. I really appreciate the thought."

Before he knew or could protest, Anna arms were around him in a warm hug. He really had no idea what this was now. If Kristoff had ever been asked to list his friends he might shamefully admit that Anna Noble was not among the first few to jump to mind. They just kept bumping into each other via mutual friends. Well, Elsa. And Olaf. So this entire gesture caught Kristoff completely off-guard. Throughout, he was painfully aware that various co-workers and other patrons of the precinct were watching them.

Worse still, the person he expected to meet walked through the door at that moment and he just knew there would be some line quickly formulated to inspire further awkwardness.

"Well this is nice," Leiko Tanaka drawled, punctuating her deadpan expression with an expertly timed blowing and bursting of her bubble-gum. "Is this the etiquette in this city? Or can you just not resist a man in uniform?"

Anna turned upon realising she was being addressed, and she might have gone a shade redder from the recognition. Kristoff really couldn't tell now. He was still confused from the exchange.

"Oh, hi!" Anna greeted, again trying to act normal but failing. "Leiko, right? Erm… Weren't you arrested the other day? You crashed through a window or something."

"I know what I did," Tanaka stated, unappreciatively, her eyebrows drawing together. "Luckily your boyfriend there got me off the charges. My mistake, though; I thought you were dating Westerguard."

By the quiet, deflated response Anna gave, Kristoff would be impressed if Tanaka did not feel the slightest touch of regret for what she said.

"I am dating Hans," Anna clarified, although there as a wobble of doubt in her voice. "I just got Kristoff a present, though."

Tanaka shrugged from apparent disinterest, and she studied a nearby poster about drug crime instead of paying attention. Put off by this strange display, Anna slowly turned back to face Kristoff, glancing at the clock on her phone in the process. There was a text message showing on the lock screen. Kristoff tried not to pry, although he did notice a red heart beside the name. Only a few guesses presented themselves from that.

"Yeah, I've, er, got to head off," Anna apologised unsurely, reading the message twice over. "Hans is coming to my apartment for lunch and I better go to meet him. But have a merry Kristoff, Christmas. No! I mean-…"

"Don't worry, I understand," Kristoff assured. From the reflection in the door he was slightly aware that, when he used an overly enthusiastic smile, his grin peculiarly resembled Hans' winning smile. "You have a good one as well. I hope everything works out alright."

Anna nodded, chewing her lip in thought as she rather slowly exited the precinct with that scarf trailing behind her. The end of it got caught in the door whilst Anna turned the corner, and Kristoff could see that she was trying to discretely tug it free without appearing to retreat back to it. Mercifully, Tanaka opened the door a crack, letting a chilly draught roll in and freeing the tassels of the multi-coloured trip hazard.

"What a dork." Tanaka commented, shaking off the cold air despite the fact she persisted in wearing the light layers she had worn to the park.

Although he didn't approve of her tone, Kristoff did not make the mistake of trying to correct. Mainly because Anna _was_ a dork. Only a very cool one. Although her questionable delivery service left a lot to be desired when he struggled to tuck his present safely under the reception desk.

"I take it you're here for your belongings," Kristoff said with the professional detachment he'd been trying to cultivate, although it was very difficult when he got stuck with admin and non-intervening patrols in the average week. "Or, as confirmed by the San Francisco Institute of Technology this morning, _their_ belongings."

"Pff. They owned the materials, I built the damn thing," Tanaka claimed whilst she waited for Kristoff to retrieve the suit from the storage locker behind the reception. "Callaghan wouldn't know what to do with the stuff anyway. He's too busy with _Portal_ or something."

"That's terrific," Having placed the two boxes containing the wheels, boots, power packs and protection on the desk, Kristoff pulled out a ledger without really listening to what Tanaka had been saying. He just wanted to get this over with and get out of the station. "I'll need to write you a receipt. Where are you taking this… 'Speedsuit'? Are you sending it back to college?"

"No, I've still got to work on it," She said, inspecting the packages to make sure everything was there. "While you lot take a break for the birthday of a phoney messiah, I'll be getting ahead. Who knows? I may get the brake gauntlets fixed before I get my train."

It took Kristoff a moment to process what she said. He was just in the process of ignoring the quite rude dismissal of a faith he didn't really believe in either and making a note of the continued possession when he realised what she'd implied.

"Hold up. You're leaving? On Christmas Eve?" He asked out of cursory interest. There was an official capacity to the questions also, but he was more surprised by her sudden change of plans.

"Yeah. Westerguard terminated my internship, didn't he?" Tanaka came close to spitting, but resorted to just blowing another bubble and popping it with her teeth. "Couldn't risk more bad publicity."

"I would've thought the incident at his Ball was hitting more headlines," Kristoff offered, not recalling any mention of Tanaka's crash in the morning news but a lot about the scandal at the _Lumiere_. Although the White Knight had slipped through the cracks of media as well, so he didn't know how much he could trust the local radio station. "So where are you going? I'll need contact details to release this stuff to you."

Tanaka sighed, equally annoyed by the length of the proceedings. "I'm going to stay with a friend of mine, at his aunt's house in San Francisco. Apparently his brothers got a lab in the garage that I can use."

"Alright. And a cell number?"

"You should have that on record from when you released me yesterday."

Following the quickened exchange, there was nothing more to do than have Tanaka sign the release form and hand her a copy of the 'receipt'. Then they were done. If Kristoff had been able to make any deduction about her feelings on this, he might have guessed relief given that her scowl was not as severe. Even as she piled the boxes one on top of the other, grunting as she lifted them, he might have guessed she was glad to get out of the city.

"Well, stay safe," Kristoff said, feeling a resurgence of embarrassment as she made to leave without goodbye. "Don't use that to get into more trouble."

"You think this suit is trouble? One of my friends is working with _plasma_." And that was all Tanaka said as she backed out of the door.

For a few minutes after the departure, Kristoff merely stood behind the desk of reception and reflected on what strange people he seemed to know. One woman who could change the temperature at will. Another who was close to discovering the truth about her sister, yet was perpetually oblivious about it. The student who practiced her work on the freeway. And he'd also had a hand in resurrecting a teenager. If he ever told anyone else about all this, Kristoff thought he would definitely end up in a psychiatric ward.

"Women." Was all Kristoff could comment, aimed at no one in particular. Without a further word, he retrieved his present and returned to his desk. Only another twelve witness statements to study before starting his second 'job'.

* * *

The representative of the Mayor's office which came through Elsa's door just after lunch was not the one she had been expecting. In the last few months, since she had decided to go ahead with the Noble Investment Fund, Elsa had been visited by a number of economists and financial advisers for completely unwarranted pointers on how to run the program. Indeed, Weselton himself had dropped by unannounced on one occasion which hadn't ended particularly well for either of them. Elsa couldn't understand why a City Official who so loved free trade was so against her personal attempt to strengthen local business. It was insane.

So she had been expecting a bureaucrat of some description to come into her office and drill her on whether this was a wise use of the company's income. But instead, Elsa was met with a far friendlier face who she still dreaded seeing.

"I thought you were going home for Christmas?" Was the first thing Elsa said when she saw Belle Bisous confidently stride into her office.

She immediately regretted saying that when she saw Belle's face. In the short time they had known each other, most of it had been smiles, laughter, and intelligent conversation. It was only a rare occasion when Belle would frown as she did now, and that was usually reserved for trash-talk about the Mayor or a professional hunter from her hometown. This meant that Elsa was initially scared when she found herself on the receiving end of that frown, even though she could guess why Belle would be so exasperated.

"I'm on my way to the airport, I've got a flight to Quebec in three hours," Belle answered, holding a satchel most likely full of books up to exemplify her impending travel. "But I thought I'd drop by just to see how you were. Sorry to arrange a formal meeting at work to do this, but you weren't answering your phone."

Elsa shrank back in her chair slightly, annoyed with herself for being so neglectful of her friends and family. It was true that Belle had tried to call her on no fewer than four occasions the previous day. All of them had been ignored or declined in the face of studying the Knight's appearance at the Ball. In hindsight, Elsa realised that wasn't the best course of action considering the threats she now faced, however she had also assumed Belle would be safe once she left for the airport. There would be no chance the Knight could get to her then.

"I am so sorry about that," Elsa earnestly apologised, fidgeting from sheer discomfort of the snub. "I was just a bit… Freaked out by the other night."

"I understand that, I do," Belle assured, her mouth flicking to a smile while the air of unprecedented hurt still hung around her. "But you disappeared from that hall and I had no idea where you'd gone. Then the rumour went around that you and Hans Westerguard pushed the creep off the roof. And then I couldn't contact you. I was really worried something bad had happened."

"Sorry," Was all Elsa could say, feeling scolded and awful over her radio silence. She thought now that even a text message would have sufficed. "Well, you've got me now. I have an entire hour pencilled down for this 'Mayoral meeting'. Would you like to get a sandwich from the cafeteria or… Coffee?"

Belle laughed slightly at the offer. It was an amused laugh, and not particularly mean, but Elsa still felt a bit foolish at trying to fix her wrong like that.

"Elsa, I have to check in at the airport in half-an-hour, I don't really have time for a cheese sandwich," Belle replied, her concern at Elsa's odd behaviour dissipating slightly. "In fact I've got a cab waiting for me downstairs. But, since I had wanted to see you yesterday and didn't, I was wondering if you wanted to come out to Canada next week. If you can get a few days off. My Papa would like to meet you and it's a quiet little town."

The offer gave Elsa reason to pause. Mainly because she hadn't really thought about life going on beyond tomorrow with any serious thought. This problem that currently faced her eclipsed almost everything else. But if she did manage to dupe the Knight into believing the Snow Queen was gone, then Elsa considered a small holiday as one of the things she wanted to do most.

When she was about to answer, though, she was cut off by the sudden blare of a ringtone. Her blood froze for a fleeting moment as she worried it was the villain attempting to taunt her further, however she soon realised the ringtone was not the standard recording but instead an excerpt from a Bon Jovi song. If she remembered correctly, it had been a friend who had set that caller alert for himself as a joke.

"Hold that thought," Elsa said, torn between continuing the discussion and seeing to the phone. She was well aware now that she thought it through that the Knight probably wouldn't call her on her own cell, but the press of his thumb on her life had given everything a greater edge of urgency. As far she was concerned with people there was aid and peripherals, or this was how she tried to approach it. So upon seeing the caller ID she was torn. "Could you give me a moment?"

Belle quirked that ever curious eyebrow, her reassuring smile edged with worry. Regardless of her current feelings though, she respected Elsa's wishes as she was under the idea that the call was concerned with the running of the Noble Corporation. However, it did not escape Belle that a business call wouldn't be made on a private number. But all she could do was leave Elsa to it and wait out in the corridor.

The phone continued ring through a few more times as Elsa made sure no one was listening. She stared mournfully at the frosted glass door of her office, and then she answered.

"What do you want?" She greeted rather harshly, annoyed by the intrusion on her problems by someone who surely couldn't be aware of how dire her situation was.

"_And hello to you too, Snowflake," _Eugene Fitzherbert responded, none too put off by the strained voice he heard on the line. "_Here I was thinking I'd spread some festive cheer and you sound like you're about to be visited by ghosts."_

"It's not a good time," Elsa told him, thankful there was at least one person she could be frank with. "I've got wall-to-wall meetings this morning and then I've got a lunatic breathing down my neck the rest of the day."

"_Is that the latest spa fad? I swear, more money than sense,"_ He half-groaned, followed by a small laugh at his own joke. "_Wish I was that rich."_

Elsa's hand went to her forehead, rubbing her brow in frustration. There was really no time for this. Not when she was trying to achieve Nash equilibria with a psychopath.

"Did you have a reason for calling, or do you just want a chat? Because I thought you had other friends to bother."

"_Alright, I'll make it quick. The Godmother of crime's got some drug lords in town. I'm on the trail and I'm trying to infiltrate the network. But I'm going to need, like, a crate of painkillers to get their trust. Don't suppose you could spare that much, Snowflake?"_

Grunting in anger, Elsa head-butted the desk. She tried to recompose herself before taking the phone up again, but even she had to admit that everything was getting to her. And by throwing in somehow having a shipment of medications disappear, she may as well become a magician. She was certainly getting the hang of escapism.

"You do realise you'd be fuelling the production of drugs?" She asked, deciding to solve this small problem as best as she could before returning to those which were much bigger.

"_Only until I give Maximus the heads up on where they are. It'll take me, what? Three days? Hardly enough time to use up an entire crate of aspirin." _To Eugene, taking out a drugs cartel sounded like it was a Tuesday. "_Besides, in our line of work you can never have too many painkillers. We don't all have magic serum which mends bullet wounds."_

"I don't have any more of that stuff. And it did a lot more than just bullet wounds," Obviously Eugene had not contacted Rapunzel in the past few months, leading Elsa to wonder what exactly her cousin was doing at the moment. But that could wait for another day. "Look, I'll send you as much as I can, but I have got a lot going on at the moment."

"_Oh yeah, that hostage thing you were in?" _It surprised Elsa that Eugene had caught wind of that incident. "_There was an article in the _Corona Star_. All the nutjobs make a Christmas appearance. Did you really push him off the roof?"_

"No, Hans Westerguard pushed him," Elsa defended. She did not want both her personas to have connotations with murder, however justified those instances were. "And it wasn't even the right nutjob. The White Knight's coming after me and… I don't know what to do."

There was a pause at Eugene's end of the line, during which time Elsa could have sworn she heard a pin drop. From this alone she knew something was wrong and she could only wonder what it was. The speed at which she went from on edge to full blown agitated was alarming. But soon enough Eugene shook himself out of whatever had caught off guard.

"_Did you say the White Knight?" _He questioned, sounding surprised in an equal measure to Elsa.

"Yes?"

"_Ninja dude, with a roman sword? Gold cape?" _Eugene described with startling accuracy. "_Kinda looks like a Power Ranger that gets introduced half-way through a season?"_

"Yes, that's him!" To say Elsa was ecstatic that the Knight was known of outside Arendelle would hardly be an understatement. This was the first time she'd heard of someone being aware of her foe without having seen them encounter each other. That in itself was relieving, mainly because this was a stroke of luck which went in her favour. "Have you met him?"

"_Not me, personally,"_ Eugene denied, only deflating Elsa's joy momentarily. "_But Merida has. She told me she'd fought a guy dressed like that, what? Nearly a year ago?" _

Elsa could not believe that she'd been so close to such a reliable source the entire time. Never a mention of the Knight on the internet, he'd always been edited out of newspapers, but someone else had gone toe-to-toe with him and lived. She was not going to let this lead slip away.

"How did she stop him? How do I contact Merida?" Elsa pressed, pulling out a slip of paper where she jotted down what she'd found.

"_To be honest, it sounded like she only just got out of that alive, and she's not keen on giving out her email. _I _barely got it," _Eugene explained, audibly thinking the matter over. "_But I'll try and get anything she has to say from her and send it over to your IT guy. The one who has a crush on me."_

"Olaf does not have a crush on you, but that would be brilliant Flynn, thank you," Elsa said, tapping her pen against the desk in bizarre excitement. "Guess I'll have to send you those painkillers now."

"_Call it a Christmas present if you want to, although I wouldn't hold your breath for one from me. I'll send you a candy-cane or something," _Wherever Eugene was on the other end of the line, a bell rang from nearby and there was the voice of a stranger from nearby. Eugene cupped the receiver of his phone whilst he replied, although Elsa could make out part of what they were saying. Apparently the voice belonged to someone called Hooke, who was ordering Eugene to get back to work. "_Yeah, listen, Elsa, I gotta go but I'll get whatever I can from Merida. Merry Christmas, Snowflake."_

Elsa repeated the sentiment, and then sat back in her chair with her hands to her face. Suddenly possibilities were opened in how she could combat the White Knight. Even if she had to suspend her duties as the Snow Queen for the time being, she at least now had a few threads to grasp at and unravel whatever web the Knight had spun. So far Elsa could presume he was rich, provided her theory of his presence at the Westerguard Ball was correct, and now she had a previous account of his activities from (assuming this Merida was the Archer) Dunbroch. Of course, it did beg the question of why he went to Dunbroch. If it was only a year ago he was there, then it could be the case he was preparing whatever he was still planning in Arendelle.

But then, what had the Knight meant when he claimed he was only in Arendelle because Elsa, or the Snow Queen, was. She had only been active six months, whereas he had existed for at least twice that time. And he obviously wasn't hunting down all vigilantes if he hadn't gone after Merida again.

Elsa swallowed thickly. She would have to wait to hear Merida's account of what happened, but it looked like he was hunting _her _specifically. Although entertaining that theory would involve ignoring his statement of not knowing the Snow Queen's real name. Unless Eugene forwarded that email in the next twelve hours, she would still be facing this decision blind.

All she could do for the moment, though, was sigh and try to forget whilst she dealt with her actual job. Even before that, she wanted to clear the air with Belle. And find out what Anna was doing, make sure her sister was safe. Kristoff and Olaf would be fine in the Ice Palace. She just had to be sure everyone was secure.

However, once again events were moving faster than she could keep up with. When Elsa rose from her desk and went to her office door she found that no one was waiting outside. Belle had evidently left before Elsa had explained herself. Likely because Belle had a flight to catch and couldn't spare any time for the lies she would be tricked into believing.

Still, after calling down to the reception and finding no messages waiting for her, Elsa was left to be perturbed that her friend had left without even saying goodbye. That seemed slightly out of the ordinary.

* * *

As Elsa approached the apartment block on Queen Boulevard that day, she was alarmed to find it was already five-thirty on Christmas Eve. Dimly she remembered all the things she had planned to arrange. All the festivities for tomorrow which had failed to materialise fully. She hadn't even managed to find a turkey for Christmas dinner. When she was a child, this time of year had always been a bleak expanse of self-exile. Her mother told her every year that it would get better, that Elsa would have a grand Christmas again, with the people she loved. Part of why Elsa had come to Anna's apartment was in hope that she could still salvage something from Christmas.

Unfortunately, she also had to figure out whether her sister could be adequately protected from forces she couldn't even begin to perceive. One option would be to take Anna down to the Ice Palace and lock her on one of the platforms until the danger passed, although Elsa was sure this would bring out more problems in the long run. Anna could never know that she spoke to the Snow Queen every day, and that would be endangered if the redhead was shown that secret lair under the Mountains. No, all Elsa could do was make sure Anna's penthouse was secure or suggest she return to the Noble Estate. Whether one was safer than the other could not be known yet. Everything was guesswork with the Knight.

It was on the elevator ride up that Elsa pondered what exactly the White Knight would accept as her abandoning the Snow Queen guise. How on earth could he possibly find out if she'd gone into hiding? By his own admission, he didn't know where the Ice Palace actually was. Obviously he had a way of finding out, but was would he do? Drop by the abandoned station for an inspection? How would he be satisfied? One potential way out of this would be simply pack up all the equipment for a few weeks and wait for the Knight to lose interest. Elsa doubted it would be this easy, although the plan certainly looked promising. Just take a little break from the Snow Queen. God knows Kristoff and Olaf would approve of a holiday.

Still, Elsa had to cover all her bases and she had to be methodical about it. She would make sure Anna was safe first, then meet her teammates at the Ice Palace. They would talk it over. The only definite deadline Elsa could pick out was midnight. One thing at a time, though.

When Elsa finally reached Anna's door, she forcefully pushed all other thoughts out of her head. This had to be enjoyed while it lasted. There were other things to talk about, for a little time at least.

Contrary to these best laid intentions, the face Elsa met when the door was opened to her was one she disapproved of on Christmas Eve. Anna had a stony, tormented expression plastered in her frown and her very stance screamed of an unbearable awkwardness. She looked as if she'd just been visited by the Grinch, frowning in her bright red jumper adorned with snowflakes and pine trees. Elsa was terrified that the White Knight had already made an impact as a warning, until she stepped inside the doorway and realised what was really going on.

Sat at the dining room table, wearing a similar face, was Hans. Everything about him screamed uneasiness, from the fact his coat was still on to the difficult smile he tried to give Elsa. The little eye-contact he made with her was fleeting and he couldn't even rest his gaze on Anna for too long without glancing nervously out of the window. Every few seconds, he'd feel his coat pocket as if he were constantly terrified he'd been pick-pocketed, whilst the other hand tried to tap out a cheery song in a poor attempt to mask the troubled air.

Elsa had only stood in this tense atmosphere for about ten seconds by the time Anna asked her if she'd like a drink. Her sister was very keen to bring her literally any drink, and when it was eventually decided that Elsa would have some water there could have been a human shaped hole in the wall given how fast Anna went.

She didn't want to pry into any business which wasn't hers, but whatever drama had occurred between Anna and Hans had certainly made Elsa forget momentarily about any looming threats. The problem was she wanted to prolong the respite. And there was only a Westerguard to talk to.

"Is everything alright?" Elsa whispered conspiratorially, taking a careful seat on the opposite side of the table.

Hans looked as if there was something important he wanted to ask her, and he bunched his hand into his pocket. But whatever it was remained unsaid, and he offered her an embarrassed smile instead.

"Erm, well… Sort of," He answered, almost inaudibly as he leant in so that Anna may not hear them. She was already taking a long time getting a glass of water as it was. "Anna and I have had a… Disagreement about how I went about protecting her from that psycho. I'm not sure where we stand. This kind of thing isn't a deal breaker, is it? I was doing what I thought was right."

To be fair to Hans, for once Elsa agreed with his conduct. If she had tried to physically stand in the way of Anna and the White Knight, she thought she also would have used whatever argument she had to dissuade her sister from willingly becoming his hostage. What was more, Hans had had to think of all the other people in that ballroom as well, and there probably wasn't enough time to form an eloquent evaluation to prevent what Anna had planned.

Then again, Elsa could also see it from Anna's perspective. Since returning from Norway, she'd been very careful when referencing the subjects she realised Anna was sensitive about. It was obvious that the fear of being hurt and rejected was always at the forefront of Anna's people skills. Elsa knew very well, after hearing her kid sister beg through the crack under her bedroom door for thirteen years, that Anna had been denied approval from peers her own age for most of her life. It hurt Elsa that this was her fault. So it was perfectly understandable that when Hans said whatever he had about the Snow Queen not caring about Anna, the redhead had more or less felt the same denunciation of her worth, which stung all the more coming from someone she cared about.

"Really," Elsa began after mulling over her answer. "I think what you were trying to do was right, and I thank you for it. Although you may not have gone about it the right way. Anna just needs to feel valued, and I think in control sometimes. She's been rebuffed too many times."

"Alright," Hans nodded thoughtfully, once again feeling whatever was in his pocket. He had listened attentively to Elsa's advice and seemed very appreciative throughout. Although Elsa could have sworn is eye had twitched with that last sentence. "I've got one idea to prove how much I value her. It's just how do I do it?"

Before Elsa could give anymore thoughts on the matter, Anna returned with the water. It was at this same moment that Hans's phone buzzed, and when he dug it out of his suit jacket his face fell at the message. Full of regret, he rose from his seat, straightened his coat, and made his excuses.

"I'm really sorry, but my parents want to have one last skype conference before we close for the holiday." He said, evidently wanting to embrace Anna by instinct but holding back.

"Okay." Anna replied, looking equally conflicted on whether to kiss him or resort to a wave.

"But, erm, if neither of you have got any plans tomorrow," Hans went on, eyes flicking between the Noble sisters and his hand patting the outside of his coat. "Why don't you come to mine for dinner? I thought a few of my brothers were going to drop by, but they're all skiing on last-minute breaks. So there's more than enough food and I just thought it would be… Nice."

The following pause seemed unnecessarily pregnant as Elsa waited to hear Anna's answer. She supposed that she would have to follow her sister wherever tomorrow, as she would rather spend any sort of time with Anna than by herself on Christmas Day. Who knew? Maybe Christmas dinner at Hans' house would be enjoyable. Although Elsa was still keen to wait for Anna's answer before she committed herself to anything.

However, when the quiet carried on too long, with Hans staring expectantly at Elsa, she was struck by the fact that Anna still hadn't answered. Turning to face her sister, Elsa found herself on the receiving end of questioning look from Anna. It became clear that Anna wasn't going to commit to a Christmas dinner without Elsa either, a realisation which drew her out of her background state of fear for a wonderful few seconds. Of course, this did leave her in the uncomfortable position of deciding whether Hans would have Christmas with his girlfriend or not. Worryingly, an old, fearful and malicious side of Elsa relished the opportunity to stand between Anna and Hans at what was clearly a crucial point in their relationship. But morality won through; thinking carefully, Elsa turned back to Hans.

"Yes, I don't see why I can't come," She answered, watching a wave of relief wash over Hans' face. His usual grin returned in full force. Elsa could only assume he had also caught onto the unity between the sisters. "What time should I head over?"

"Great! Erm, I would say about lunchtime? I normally don't do dinner until four at Christmas so really just before then," Having heard nothing from Anna, Hans looked at with a glimmer of fear. "Are you coming as well?"

There was a moment where Anna's expression was torn in pain, and Elsa worried that she was going to decline the invitation after all. But whatever reservations held Anna back were quickly overcome, with an attempt at resuming her generally easy and excitable nature.

"Yeah! Course I am!" She exclaimed, an overcompensating smile plastered across her face. Fortunately, Hans was polite enough to pretend he hadn't noticed and returned the grin, although Elsa could clearly see that he was also trying to make up for the lull of enthusiasm between the redheads.

"Brilliant!" He said, patting his pocket one more time from habit before turning to go. "I will see you then. Have a good night."

Out of courtesy, Anna followed Hans out to the hallway to wish him a good Christmas Eve. Whilst she was gone, Elsa tried her best not to stare at them and wonder how exactly this would end. Mostly because she was largely making assumptions about how Anna would approach a relationship hiccup after being hurt. Elsa, of course, had no real experience with romance with which to judge how it should be mended and she doubted Anna possessed prior knowledge other than what she had learnt from movies. So there was really no judgement Elsa could make and her advice to Hans may have been for naught. Only time would tell.

Much the same could be said for the White Knight. Elsa still needed to suss out how secure Anna was in this building before going to meet with Kristoff and Olaf. Only if and when the Knight was satisfied with the Snow Queen's 'disappearance' would they all be safe. Until then, it was like walking on eggshells around a sleeping dragon.

From the murmurs in the hallway, Elsa could only assume that the farewells were taking a little longer than the speakers had intended. Perhaps she had interrupted an important conversation with her arrival and this was the single chance they'd had to resume it. But the whispered talk ended not long after Elsa had noticed it. There was a brief silence, followed by the muted sound of the door opening and closing.

Elsa decided this would be the perfect time to emerge from the dining room, and when she carefully stepped out into the living room she was stunned by the very portrait of confliction which was on Anna's face. Her sister was leaning against the door with her shoulders stooped and her chin down to her neck as she stared at the wood floor in deep contemplation, the crook of her thumb between her lips as her thoughts warred across her brow. If Elsa were to be overdramatic, she might think that Anna's stance was representative of a wholly philosophical internal dialogue. Sadly, however, her thoughts were almost certainly focussed on the basest of subjects as ranked by Socrates: people.

"Am I right to be like this?" Anna asked when she realised Elsa had entered after her. "Is it fair to be so… Upset with Hans?"

The word she'd probably intended to use was 'angry', although it could be questioned whether she was specifically enraged by what Hans had said in defence of her. No one could really define it other than Anna. She was the only person who knew how she felt.

"I don't know," Elsa replied with all the honesty she could convey. "All I can say is that you feel this way for a reason. And I think that reason links back to all the other times you've been hurt. Hans is very sorry for he said. But you have to know why it hurt you so much before you can forgive him. That's perfectly fine. You'll figure it out eventually."

For a few seconds afterwards everything was still. Anna digested these words, thought them over, and weighed them up against the great tumultuous storm which ached in her head. Then she decided to let it all rest for the moment, because Elsa was right. And to show how much she appreciated the familial guidance she had so sorely missed for the past four years, Anna pounced forward, across the back of the sofa, and hugged her sister as if they had only just met again. The way she should have greeted her sister when she first saw Elsa again in _Oaken's_, all those months ago.

Elsa herself was caught off-guard by such a display of affection. Since she had come back, the occasion for them to embrace like this had been very seldom. And she should have let herself enjoy the contact which she frequently denied herself for fear of hurting Anna physically. But she couldn't. Not this time. The more she thought about it, the more she came to realise that the reason Anna was having such a hard time trying to work out why she was so injured by Hans stemmed primarily from what Elsa had done all those years ago. And even if it couldn't all be blamed on that accident, then a decent secondary explanation would be what the Snow Queen did when she had visited Anna after the Riverside attack. No matter which way she looked at it, Elsa always found that Anna's emotional strife was a result of her actions.

If this was the case, then the Knight may be right. It could be the Snow Queen who was causing the most damage.

So, while Elsa did return the hug with a very loose, nervous pat on the back, she found herself re-evaluating her approach. It wasn't fair to treat Anna this way; especially when Elsa had promised to protect her little sister above all else. She had become the Snow Queen to keep Anna safe, first and foremost. That had been the kick into the life of a vigilante. But the secrecy wasn't working anymore. It was becoming clear that Elsa couldn't have it both ways. She couldn't repair her friendship with Anna and keep her at arm's length for the sake of a secret. It ashamed Elsa that for so long she'd tried to have it like this. But perhaps, after all she'd put Anna through, the best way to keep the younger Noble safe was to tell her everything. Then, even though Elsa would lose her forever, Anna would know to run away.

"I'm glad you're back," Anna said once she finally stepped away from Elsa. "Like, I know you've been back for nearly six months, but I don't think I've ever told you that. I missed you. Oh!"

Before Elsa could begin to tiptoe into the subject that desperately needed addressing (which was a tall order, and something she had to be delicate about), Anna had dived under her Christmas tree and started routing around through a small pile of presents. The redhead seemed overwhelmed by the choice of gifts, as she had trouble deciding which one she wanted to give, but eventually she pulled out a small, badly wrapped parcel which was noticeably squishy when Elsa touched it.

"There's more to come than this, but I wanted you to have this one first," Anna garbled excitedly, trying and failing to stand still as she awaited the reveal. "Go on. Open it!"

Tentatively, trying to savour the moment, Elsa carefully broke the tape and unfolded a messy corner of paper. It had been a long time since she had actually opened a present in front of someone, and she had forgotten how embarrassing it could be as Anna watched on expectantly. The problem was, though, that Elsa wasn't sure what emotion she was expressing through all the conflicting sensations she was feeling. She didn't want this to end, but she also had to tell Anna the truth at some point tonight. And she was scared of the unknown future stage of whatever the White Knight was planning to do.

With a gentle tug, the paper came away from its contents and revealed a toy which Elsa had not seen in years. It was a doll she used to play with as a child; it wore a green frock and had a mess of red woollen hair which had been styled into two short pigtails. The face had minimal features, only a threaded smile and black pupils in the place of whole eyes. But Elsa knew exactly what, or rather who, it was meant to be. She'd designed it especially all those years ago, and had passed the facsimile onto its model when she hadn't felt worthy to keep hold of it anymore. Everything present trouble was briefly forgotten as Elsa beheld her little doll of Anna for the first time since she was eight.

"Oh my God." Elsa quietly gasped, feeling a bittersweet pain seize her chest as she gently squeezed the carefully preserved plush.

"I kept mine as well!" Anna ecstatically exclaimed in a moment of fleeting worry at Elsa's reaction. She held up the braided blonde counterpart their mother had made, which Anna had had the foresight to hide under a sofa cushion in the hopes that she could explain the significance. Of course, she saw now that her precautions were unwarranted seeing as Elsa was practically beaming at the old doll.

There was more appreciation for the gift than Elsa could ever express and more thoughtfulness than she could ever repay. Secretly, behind her beaming exterior, she felt even worse at the bombshell she had decided needed to be dropped tonight. But who was to say she couldn't enjoy just another hour of this? She did her best to ignore all the answers which sprung to mind. The main problem confronting her was that she couldn't find the words to explain.

When Elsa didn't respond, Anna assumed her sister was overwhelmed by joy and she felt thrilled that the gift hadn't actually caused an unforeseen rift to appear. From childhood experience it had been clear that Anna could never really be sure of how Elsa would react to any gift. But her spirits lifted from this speechlessness. She was glad to have at least one person she knew where she stood with.

"Right! I, er… Thought we could get a Thai meal or something and watch _Arthur Christmas_ or _Die Hard_. Anything with Christmas in it. Isn't _Iron Man 3 _set at Christmas?" Anna rambled as she switched on the television. She motioned for Elsa to sit down whilst she searched through a stack of card for her well-worn menu.

Elsa had never really followed superhero movies, ironically, and so she opted to remain quiet. She sat the Anna doll on the coffee table in front of her as she mulled over how to approach her confession. At the same time, though, she sought any distraction available.

"_...Following this revolt, it is expected that Prince Simba will assume the throne after a renewed period of mourning," _The newsreader said, leaving Elsa at a slight loss even though she was only half listening. "_Join us later, when our chief political correspondent will discuss what this means for future dealings with the Pridelands and what we can expect the former king, Taka, to do next."_

"Have you been following this?" Anna asked as she handed Elsa a take-out menu and sat down beside her.

"No, I've been busy with… The company," Elsa decided. There was still no clear way to reveal her secret, and she didn't think she could stay calm much longer. "What is it?"

"You haven't heard of the Pridelands? Geez, Elsa, it's one of the biggest African economies or something. Or it was until the last King died," Anna explained with a surprising matter-of-fact quality to her voice. "I wonder if Naveen knows Prince Simba?"

Anna's words were only half heard by Elsa, as the older sister fell into another bout of her chronic retrospection. How would she break the news to Anna? How far back in their lives did she have to start explaining, to make the extraordinary chain of events make sense? Proving that Anna had always been on first name terms with the Snow Queen would be the easy bit; all Elsa had to do was produce one ice cube from her hand and that would suffice. But justifying the decade-and-a-half of subterfuge and outright lying was the part Elsa was really frightened of. That was the bit which would sever the last connection they had. If Anna was angry at Hans for treating her like a child and disregarding her feelings, imagine how angry she would be when she found out that her own sister had been responsible for the lonely childhood whilst keeping the inherent danger to her a safety a secret.

The only conclusion that Elsa could come to was that it was far better to just come out with it rather than torture herself for too long. Time was a luxury she didn't really have. She still had to decide how best to hoodwink the Knight into leaving her alone and she had less than six hours to make sure everything was secure.

So Elsa swallowed her fears and put a gently put a shaky hand on Anna's arm. Feeling the ghostly touch, the redhead immediately ended her ramble about how likely it was two princes had met and was concerned by the sickened visage of her companion. Elsa barely heard her as she was asked what was wrong. This had to be done. The truth had to be told.

And Elsa believed she would have gone through with it, to keep Anna safe, except it was just at the exact moment she was about to speak that the news suddenly cut out. Both the Nobles turned in surprise as static dominated the screen. Anna hastily put it down to snowfall disrupting the reception or broadcast. However, no sooner did she say this did the screen clear: revealing the form of the person Elsa feared most.

"_Greetings, o town of Arendelle," _The White Knight said, blank faceplate aimed straight into the camera as the light behind him flickered erratically. "_Allow me to introduce myself. I am here to represent one of the most esteemed personages in the city. No doubt many of you, sitting in your warm homes this Christmas Eve, enjoying your hot chocolates and figgy puddings, have come to hold our unelected Winter Warrior in high regard. I say 'unelected' for she is a Queen. The Snow Queen, who I work in the wake of, was truly born for the role of a monarch. She rules the street of our little principality. But, unlike the dear and noble houses which are kind enough to air messages on Christmas Day, I am afraid she has not been available. This is why I am here. For how did the Kings and Queens of old communicate with their subjects? Are there any studious children who know the answer? I shall be very proud if you knew that they sent their gallant knights. And I am the Snow Queen's White Knight."_

If Elsa had managed to fool herself into predicting the Knight's moves beforehand, she was given the very alarming wake-up call she had ignored from Olaf. She should have foreseen that the Knight wouldn't stop at merely taking her word for the disappearance of the Snow Queen. Never would he have been convinced by an empty subway station. No, he had to make sure the Snow Queen wouldn't come back, couldn't come back. Even if he had to put a target on his own head as well.

"Bullshit!" Anna abruptly yelled at the screen, throwing a sofa cushion at the television as if she could silence the Knight. The stand underneath the screen wobbled momentarily following the impact, but did not fall or fail to carry on revealing the Knight's current plan.

"_Many of you may be surprised by such knowledge,"_ He went on. With every second he spoke, the lights which reflected off his visor and the surface of his suit changed. First red, then green, then gold and finally blue. _"But it is of no matter. Not on a hallowed day such as this: the eve on which our Lord came forth in human form, to begin the reunification of God and man, and to bring hope that our sins might be forgiven, might be purged from us. I am here, on the Snow Queen's behalf, to tell you that we are sadly on the brink of Satan's dominion again. However, we shall not fear. Because the Snow Queen is here to purify us of our evils. And she is combatting the evil in this city. So, in her honour, I wish to make a visual example of her promise."_

Stepping back, the camera on which the footage was shot became jerkier and panned out to reveal where the White Knight was standing. The backdrop was a bleak, almost Dickensian mock-up of a factory floor; splintered wood and piles of crates were stacked against the nearest wall, there was a damp overhead light, illuminating rows upon rows of workbenches. Playing on that sickening festive cheer of his, the Knight had draped the benches and the few supporting girders which surrounded him with Christmas lights and there was an overlarge fir tree dominating the back of the shot. Each bench had the tools of elves laid out; wrapping paper on spools to cover obviously empty boxes and the like. This was the scene which the Knight theatrically, dramatically revealed in a slow sweep of the camera until he reached the aforementioned 'visual example' of a perverted promise.

On the last bench, just before the stupidly large Christmas tree, sat a line of twelve people. It was doubtless they were all terrified of the scenario they had been pulled into; their faces made that fact very clear; although they had been dressed into the colourful costumes of Santa's helpers, complete with a tinkling hat and plastic pointy ears. One by one, the Knight levelled the camera past each face so the countless viewers he had could see every terrified expression. Elsa watched closely, trying to save all of the hostages to her memory whilst simultaneously trying to figure out who each of them were. Not many were obvious. There was one man near the front who she thought she recognised from the Noble Corporation board. Jameson, his name was. One of the supporters of Goddard, even if he was quieter than most. Everyone else was unknown, until the Knight reached the last face.

Elsa felt her stomach clench and she had to fight back the urge to be sick. She should have thought the earlier disappearance odd, rather than put it down to an exasperated exit. But she'd dismissed it in order to make sure her sister was safe; a move she didn't regret but Elsa felt she should have at least tried to resume contact with the woman in the hands of the Knight. Because there, at the end of the queue, was Belle.

"_Observe, Arendelle, those who should be helping your economy. Each of these people should make gifts to you, throughout the year, to ensure your happiness. That is their duty,"_ The White Knight said, retreating back up the bench until he reached the first man. _"But each and every one of them has failed. This city is on the verge of economic ruin once again, and that is due to their poor management and extortionate prices for services. The eagle-eyed among you may recognise these assembled fools as working in banking, in business, politics, and health, to name the big contributors. They have failed this city. And, by the Snow Queen's will, they must pay for the damage they have done by their incompetence."_

The jostling of the camera stopped as it was stabilised on a nearby surface and the Knight stepped into the shot with a red-and-green clipboard in one hand while he drew his sword with the other. He strode to the first man in the line, one neither Elsa nor Anna recognised, and one who immediately starting panicking upon seeing the glint of the blade in the patterned lights.

"_Here we have Dr Mouse,"_ The Knight introduced, waving the clipboard in the man's direction whilst staring straight into the camera. _"He's fifty-years-old, married to a lovely woman and has four children. He also works for the Merlin Medical Practice in the north of Riverside. A very swanky place, available only to those who can pay the bills or whatever procedure is required before the appointment. Naturally, I doubt many of you at home are aware that such a place exists. I bet fewer can afford it. However I would also hazard that many of you have heard of the great social healthcare system currently being advocated by candidates, and I should hope many of you are aware that other major economies do not charge the individual such exorbitant prices for what is a basic right. Therefore, I name Dr Mouse as a criminal on the grounds of ignoring his oath to help everyone in favour of aiding those with fat wallets. And, having ignored the lives of so many poor people, there is only one way to rectify the imbalance."_

With a grand, sickening flourish, the Knight lifted his sword high into the air and then plunged it down into Dr Mouse's shoulder. His cape blocked the view of the most explicit violence, but it could not mask the horrifying scream of the dying man as Elsa could only assume the Knight twisted the blade. From beside her, Anna also gave a shriek as if it had been her who was stabbed, and she had to cover her face when the Knight stepped back to reveal the slumped, bleeding corpse.

"_On the first day of Christmas, the Snow Queen sent to me_…" He sang almost absentmindedly, making sure the spark of life had vanished from the doctor. Then he made a show of being embarrassed by remembering where he was. _"That is but one of the crimes I will mend tonight. Rest assured, Arendelle, by Christmas morn I will have given you twelve gifts of restitution. Happy Holidays."_

The camera abruptly switched off, and returned viewers across the city to whatever they had been watching before the ghastly interruption. In the Noble sisters' case, they stared blankly at equally shocked newsreader that had to stammer back into the program. Neither of them listened to the television anymore, though. They were too horrified by what they had seen. Elsa still had to fit the urge to throw up in the knowledge that she hadn't managed to save everyone that mattered to her. And she'd already failed in protecting someone who mattered to other people as well.

"Oh, God. Elsa. I'm so sorry," Anna said, her presence appreciated despite the temporary catatonic nature Elsa had fallen into. "Don't worry. Belle will be alright. The Snow Queen will rescue her."

That should have been the kick Elsa needed to burst into action, but she could clearly see now that she would lose either way. This was how the Knight would figure out her answer. Her plan to merely pack up the Ice Palace and go underground for a while would mean sentencing the remaining eleven people to death, including Belle. And if she went charging in to save them, the Knight would not stop until everyone she loved was murdered by his own hand. No matter which way she chose, though, the name of the Snow Queen was besmirched now. The police were sure to redouble their efforts to catch her since the Knight had claimed to work in her name. No escape. No help; be it from princes, or superhumans, or regular vigilantes.

Elsa failed to notice her sister wrapping her in a hug, and didn't respond to any of the assurances on the faith that the Snow Queen could solve all the problems. Anna's unwavering belief that the Snow Queen was a force for good was reassuring, although it did not entirely eclipse the fact that there was at least one family out there who saw her as the worst of villainy. Besides, Elsa had been about to tell Anna the truth, and that would only lead what remained of her family to turn on her. Because that was what Elsa Noble, the Arendelle Snow Queen, did one way or the other. She hurt people.

"Do you want a drink?" Anna asked to deaf ears, searching for any sign of recognition on Elsa's face. "I think that would help. You look so pale. Wait here… Not that it looks like you're going to run off at the moment."

With that, Anna ran into the kitchen to begin searching for the stiffest drink she had. Anything that would bring her sister back into reality. All the while, she silently prayed and begged with any higher power or universal governing force to have the Snow Queen pull through for the Noble family. God knew that Elsa really needed a hero to help her right now.

Meanwhile, as Anna was searching through her cupboards, Elsa was effectively roused back into consciousness by the ding of a text alert. By sound alone she knew it was not her personal phone or her business cell receiving a message. This sound was foreign to her ears and wholly unwelcome, although she could not ignore it. Taking the small, basic cell phone from her suit jacket, Elsa flipped the screen over and read whatever secret tidbit was being fed to her.

'_I've not been here since Vlad and Gregor dropped by. I hope you'll visit as well, your Majesty. There are people here who want to speak to you __x'_

That tore it for Elsa. She'd had enough of this man's games. He'd threatened her sister, her cousin, and her friends. For three months she had been watching over her shoulder for fear he would strike. In hindsight, she supposed a surprise attack would have been far better than the torture of warnings and invitations and misdirection. Why he hated her so much was forever a mystery to her, but she was enraged now by his unwavering pursuit of her ruin. And who was to say that he would leave Anna alone after getting through all his hostages?

That was why Elsa decided to get up. Because he had and would hurt everything of meaning to her, and he would reveal the damage she did. But she was not prepared to stand down whilst he whittled down the population of Arendelle in spite. The Snow Queen was going to hurt him a hell of a lot first.

When Anna returned to the living room with a bottle of whisky in hand, she was surprised to find that Elsa had vanished. Apart from the pile of a wrapping paper and a discarded coat, there was no evidence to say that her sister had ever been here at all. Anna supposed that she had to understand that Elsa was prone to manic states of anxiety in the face of danger, although she couldn't help but be a little hurt that she had run off so quickly, without a parting word.

Well, not without a word. Before she had left, Elsa had obviously thought to scrawl a message on the back of the torn paper rather than shout out a hasty farewell.

_Lock the door; I'll explain when I get back._

* * *

**Please Review**

**(And go check out the new **_**Vigilantes of Corona.**_**)**


	30. The Man in White - Part Five

**Alright, alright. Still not quite back into the writing routine, but hopefully this chapter will make up for that. Honestly, I had a bit of trouble with the choreography (as always) and I'm still not entirely happy with it (ditto). But I thought this couldn't wait any longer. Besides, I've been building this chapter up in my head for a long time. I'm probably overthinking.**

**However, excitement abounds further than this story, because I'm very happy to announce that, not only are the stories of Rapunzel and Eugene being told in **_**The Vigilantes of Corona**_**, but Merida's tale has now been published as **_**The Archer of Dunbroch **_**by the wonderful Victory Goddess. So if you like this story (which I assume you do, given this is chapter 30), I urge you to go check out the other stories and leave a review. I'll let you know, I'm very excited to see what becomes of Merida now she's properly in this AU.**

**Anyway, I'll quickly respond to the reviews and then get out of your way. Thank you to everyone who replied. I honestly thought the last chapter was a bit wordy. And again, TeamArendelle has given quite the interesting review. There's no need to be sorry about rants. I quite enjoy reading them. All you have to expect is that sometimes I may argue back if I see a real point to disagree on. However, I shouldn't be surprised if we see the White Knight against Merida sometime in the future. **

**But, alas, I shall truly leave you to enjoy the chapter now. **

* * *

There was no surprise for Elsa as she burst into the Ice Palace to find Kristoff and Olaf already waiting for her. However, even if she had not expected them to arrive so early she would probably have given them the same greeting in light of the most recent development. And that greeting was, succinctly, to breeze past them to find her Snow Queen suit without saying a word.

To their credit, however, neither of them treated this behaviour as out of the ordinary. In fact, when Elsa returned, they were both still sat in their usual chairs quite patiently. It was unfortunate that this was not a response that Elsa, in her state of agitated determination, appreciated.

"I take it you saw his broadcast." She said, her voice cold as she clawed off her gloves. Her eyes barely deviated from her small tasks as she addressed them, although her temper could be recognised from a mile off.

"Yes." Kristoff stated without any inflection of emotion. If Elsa had looked up from her preparations, she may have noticed that while Kristoff was staring at her, he was doing his utmost to avoid any accidental eye-contact.

All three of them felt a heavy tension in the still, chilly air of the Ice Palace. It hung in their individual silences, in the reluctance of Kristoff and Olaf to act and in Elsa's simmering rage in the face of being duped. Even Sven caught onto the unspoken concerns, although he was opting to take cover underneath Kristoff's desk rather than bear witness to the crash they were inevitably heading for. The only thing which stopped everything coming out was the fact no one wanted to raise the topic. Except it could only be put off for so long.

"Olaf," Elsa called once she had fixed on her mask and taken a few, steadying breaths. "Can you bring up any visuals on the old Westerguard Industrial Park? The one where Rapunzel was held."

The struggle in Olaf's loyalty was evident as he instinctively turned to find the best camera feed from his computer, but suddenly stopped and visibly wrestled with himself not to follow her instructions. His hesitation, and subsequent refusal, caught Elsa's attention. She stared with a portion of her fury breaking through as he slowly sat back in his chair, turned back to her, and stared blankly.

"How do you know he's at the industrial park?" He asked with a forced hint of his general innocence. The rest of his tone was identical to the voice of counsel Elsa's parents used to give her on the rare occasion she acted out as a child.

Anger coursed through Elsa as she stood under the questioning glare of her compatriots. Her shoulders squared and she stood unnaturally straight, even by her standards. Clenched fists shook at her sides as the temperature dropped quite considerably in the hub. Olaf and Kristoff's breaths came out as increasingly opaque clouds, yet they stood their ground and Elsa had to admit what she had done.

"He texted me, just after he killed Mouse," She told them in the calmest expression she could muster at present. "I know where he is and we have to stop him before he kills eleven more people."

Infuriatingly, her allies continued to maintain their muteness in the wake of this news. No action was taken, no movements made. Several minutes passed as they held back from saying anything. And Elsa grew all the more frustrated as they effectively chained her back from helping the people who were in immediate danger. The irony of her intention to help when the police wouldn't was not lost on any of them.

Of course, to say that Kristoff and Olaf were willing to waste time was wholly untrue and Elsa knew that. She could clearly see that they were conflicted on what to do, the one time she was not. The only obvious course to follow would be to take out the Knight now, without pulling any punches. But when they did eventually speak their minds, it was not the answer Elsa had expected to hear.

"You should stay here." Kristoff told her, plainly and simply, his eyes locked onto hers with all his power.

"What?" Was all she could lowly respond with.

"You shouldn't go out and face him, not now. This is a chance for the ball to be in our court and we shouldn't waste it," He tried to explain, cutting across her when Elsa tried to interrupt. "Think about it. This has been his plan all along. He's got everything set up how he wants. There's no ulterior motive this time, no scheme for you to stop, he is purely focussed on taking you out. That's why he's played it this way. He's trying to work you into a frenzy. So we have to do what he's not expecting, and that means sitting this one out."

There was undeniable logic to Kristoff's thoughts. But everything he had said had already crossed her mind and Elsa refused to accept any of it. She had been played with too long, and if the Knight had engineered everything to get her angry then he would discover just how much he had underestimated that anger. Besides, there was no clean way to detach herself from this scenario.

"He has Belle," Elsa pointed out, striding closer with a freezing menace. "He has people's mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and spouses and children. If I don't go to face him, he will _kill _all of them. What kind of hero- What kind of vigilante am I if I just sit back and let that happen? Everyone's going to think he's following my instructions more than they already do! If I don't try to help them, then I will become the villain."

"No, the _Snow Queen_ will become the villain," Kristoff argued, holding his ground under her glare. "You can walk away from this, regroup, and fight him again if he reappears after this. And, yes, eleven more people will die if you do this, but what good are you to Arendelle if you get killed instead?"

"_Then I won't die_." Elsa stressed, slamming her fist against the table with such ferocity that the resultant dent surprised her. But this was ignored as she turned to the door instead, ready to track down the Knight alone.

Accept, as she approached, the heavy entrance swung shut by itself and bolted into place; sealing all of them inside the Ice Palace. Elsa stared uncomprehendingly at the slab of steel for a few seconds, before she whipped back to face Kristoff. However, she quickly realised that Kristoff was not sat anywhere near a computer terminal or the lock, which left only one other candidate for who could have locked the door.

"You shouldn't go," Olaf repeated, fingers poised over his keyboard as if he could block her path any more than just controlling the exit. "Elsa, this is dangerous and deadly. Don't go."

For the first time since she had left Anna's apartment, a sliver of doubt pierced through her resolve. Since she had known him, Olaf had never stood in her way over anything. Throughout all her ups and downs at university he had sat back and kept an unprying eye on her. Never stopping her if she suddenly felt she had to get out of a lecture, or an exam, or their apartment. Always willing to help her pick up the pieces when things went wrong. Even when she had decided to become the Snow Queen, Olaf had been enthusiastic and willingly followed her through all the mistakes. All of which meant that his current protest of her intent was serious. She knew it, he knew it, and he was actually moved to prevent her for once.

"I have to stop him," Elsa pleaded at him. "He has to be stopped. He has to be brought to justice. He has to pay for everything he's done; to Anna, to Rapunzel, to innocent people. To Marshall."

Speaking his brother's name had the same jolting effect as being shot would have, as Olaf sat back in considerable pain as the words were spoken. A deep, tortured breath escaped him whilst he digested the argument which had already sprung to his mind. Elsa regretted bringing the relatively fresh wound up almost immediately, yet she had to get out of the Ice Palace by any means possible.

"Marshall is dead," Olaf hollowly said, admitting this truth for the first time since the event itself. "You are not. And right now I care more about you staying alive than avenging Marshall."

"Do you care about my life more than Belle's, and Jameson's, and the other hostages'?" Elsa questioned, her fingers shaking at the stress of mutiny and what it was becoming apparent she would have to do. It was a mistake coming to the Ice Palace first. Her determination had been cracked by their concerns, and while she was no less fixated on saving everyone she could from that factory, that niggling voice of uncertainty was beginning to stir in her head. "I am not prepared to let them die when all the Knight wants is to face me. So _open the door_."

"No." Olaf said after a second of hesitation. He folded his arms in testament to his firmness.

"_Open the door!_" Elsa bellowed with such volume that her voice could hardly remain steady in emotion. Thankfully neither of her friends brought attention to the tremor of panic in her words.

"Elsa, that door is not opening to let you get yourself killed," Kristoff affirmed from behind her. "And if it does, we won't have a part in this suicidal mission."

Their virtual desertion socked Elsa directly in the stomach. All tension in her body dissipated as she turned between them several times, searching desperately for any chink in their positions on the matter. None could be seen. It really was just her against the White Knight. This realisation, of not even having moral support, terrified Elsa to her very core.

Her head was spinning as she surveyed the room in defeat, her eyes eventually fixing on the heavy metal door. It must have weighed a couple of tonnes, at the very least, and was anchored in plaster and concrete. The single material item in her way.

This time, Elsa had been forced into her dangerous habit of retrospection; cross-examining all the events which had led up to this point. All those things which could have gone slightly differently. She could have so easily been caught when she took out George Jones at the Arendelle Mall six months ago. She could have so easily been left to die when Facilier gave her a dose of Voodoo. If Flynn Rider hadn't flown in to her rescue, the Stabbingtons would have shot her in that café. And she would have lacked the power to be merciful to Marshall if Rapunzel had never been mutated by that serum.

How simple would it have been for Anna not to be hit in the head when she was five?

Most prominently, though, she lamented how easy it would have been for her mother not to have the lab accident which cursed Elsa with the blizzard before she was born. It seemed the entire course of her life had been decided by that moment.

More than anything else, Elsa wanted to speak to her parents. They would have known what to do.

Except Adgar and Idunn were dead. And no matter how much Elsa wanted to see them again, she couldn't. Belle, on the other hand, had a father who was most likely sick at the news his daughter was about to be killed by a psychopath. Elsa was not prepared to let anyone else feel that loss.

"Fine then," She said, her shoulders set again and her stance hardening. Her gaze bore into the metal slab in her path. Her fingers twitched in anticipation at what she was about to do. "Stand back."

With a snapping flourish, Elsa thrust her arms forwards and fired a steady blast of ice into the wall on either side of the door. Under her relentless pressure the tiled surface immediately began to chip away in great chunks of shattered stone while the spread of the cold quickly engulfed the metal bolts and rods. The instant lowering of the temperature echoed with the creak of contracting steel and the crackling of disintegrating brick, raising an eerie cacophony which masked Elsa's groan of the strain. Her veins stood out on her skin and to Kristoff she looked set to snap with how tightly coild her muscles were.

Elsa yelled out in perturbed success as the wall finally gave out and the two-tonne door slumped down to the ground. It was fortunate that the snow Elsa had created cushioned the fall enough to greatly diminish the _clang_ which might have deafened them all. Where once there stood a testament to the secrecy and security of the Ice Palace, there was now a gaping hole leading directly into the tunnel, meaning anyone could get in. Or, as was far worse in the current situation, leave.

Without a word, Elsa strode off in the shadowy corridor; her powers partially exhausted by the effort of tearing the door open, but her willpower fuelling her into the fast approaching conflict.

Shock dominated the scene of the Ice Palace for several minutes after her departure. Olaf was nearly catatonic at the extraordinarily out-of-character display of force Elsa had made, and the one time he made to follow her Kristoff was quick to wave him down.

"We can't stop her any more than she can stop the Knight, now," Kristoff stated with a forced measure of calm in the face of this development. "But we can limit the damage. And we'll need to get hold of the few people who could help Elsa at the moment."

* * *

Barely an hour had passed before Elsa pulled up to the disused warehouse, having taken as rapid a path she could without gaining a fleet of police cruisers behind her. They were definitely out searching for her, and fear of the Snow Queen had already spread among the public given the number of times a late pedestrian had fled from her path during the journey. But Elsa didn't care about this new behaviour or about the revival in the hunt after her. On the most part, Kristoff and Olaf's moral objections hadn't fazed her too much either. Or so she told herself. The fewer people involved the better. This didn't need to involve anyone beyond the Snow Queen and the White Knight. Elsa was glad it could be this way once she got Belle and the others out of that warehouse.

From the outside, the building looked as dead as ever. The glimmer of fairy lights could not be made out through the high windows and the entire business park was undisturbed from the last time she had been here. There weren't even any tracks in the snow to betray the trap it was. Obviously the Knight had been planning this for a very long time. Perhaps from the moment the Stabbingtons were taken from the scene of their crime.

Memories of the previous occasion Elsa had been here briefly resurged and made her grip the handlebars of her bike in anger. Last time, Rapunzel had been shot on these premises. In the tally of that night, Elsa figured that this constituted a defeat despite the fact that she'd been able to save her cousin. Irrespective of the eventual outcome; someone she was trying to save, a member of her own family, had been mortally wounded under her protection; and the Knight had succeeded in distracting her long enough to exact his main goal. She'd failed more than she won. She was not going to let that happen again. She'd had enough of the White Knight.

Having stopped at the top of the drive, Elsa climbed off of her motorbike and stowed it behind a dumpster before she strode towards the targeted warehouse with a silent, angry purpose filling her. Snow had started to fall over Arendelle once more, perhaps to convince the citizens that Christmas was still coming and to hide the danger which lurked within the city limits. Not a single snowflake touched Elsa on her march through the natural flurry, as the drops instead curled around her under the power of her will. And by the time she reached the building, none of her footprints were visible. If the police were still tailing her they would have a hard time now that every single trace of her movements was gone.

Surprisingly, there was no strike heading her way as she neared the warehouse. On the journey here, Elsa had readied herself for all kinds of tricks which would make it difficult for her to get inside the building, yet none were coming. This probably meant, from her perspective, that the Knight was prepared to get straight to business rather than play more games. But she also wasn't willing to trust him any further than she could throw him. And she was hoping to find out exactly how far that would be.

It was only as she got within ten metres of the delivery aby that she noticed the only evident sign of interference. And that was a very benign white arrow which pointed away from the tall shutters, around the corner. In any other situation, this would have clearly been a trap. But under the current circumstances, Elsa was more inclined to follow the trail. There was hardly a prank she wasn't expecting, a surprise attack she wasn't anticipating.

The only eventualities which Elsa had not considered were the two which actually occurred. Firstly, there was no ambush on the threshold of the warehouse's side door, which the white arrows directed her to. The second, and far more bizarre, eventuality was the collection of small keys hanging from a hook which had obviously been added to the peeling door in the last few days. Beyond the surprising gift that was the keys, it didn't take long for Elsa to realise what they were. They were the keys to handcuffs, left out in the falling snow purposefully for her to find. Now more than ever, Elsa questioned the exact plan of the White Knight and felt the fire of hatred towards him engulf her mind a little bit more. This was all a game to him.

Slowly, Elsa reached out and, finding no booby trap attached to the hook, withdrew the keys before she kicked the door open with a resounding _smack_. The scene which welcomed her was just as quiet and undisturbed as the rest of the industrial park, a mood broken only by the taunting transition of Christmas lights across the rafter and the visible stream of blood which oozed sickeningly from the nearby prisoner bench.

It took all of Elsa's remaining self-control to not run at full pelt to the hostages. However, her measured approach only gave her more time to burn the image into her memory and speculate what had happened since she had last seen the hostages from the television screen.

After Dr Mouse, who was left slumped at the far end of the bench in his blood soaked suit, sat three more fresh corpses. They had all been alive ninety minutes ago. Terrified, endangered, but alive. Elsa was transfixed on their faces as she got nearer; on the glassy eyes and the tracks of tears. Two of them were women; one must have been a student, no older than Anna, and the other was roughly the same age Idunn had been when Elsa last saw her. She had no idea what their names were. All she knew was that she had failed them. The other murdered person was, sadly, someone she knew. It was Jameson, one of Goddard's nerve-grating followers from the board. Elsa had never really cared about him, although his death was far from what she wanted of him.

The only relief which moved Elsa at this point was the realisation that Belle had so far survived. Of course, this came with the shout of abuse from the other survivors as each of spotted her arrival once Belle had called to her for help.

"You're not really working with him, are you?" Belle asked in a hushed voice as Elsa got nearer. Out of the eight of them, it was only Belle that had faith the Snow Queen was not a villain. Although this may have been aided by the fact Elsa was carrying the keys to the handcuffs.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Belle's neighbour in the chain of captives loudly asked, stirring a loud monologue of disgust at Queens and Knights alike, interspersed with such colourful language to make the dead weep.

Having had enough of interruptions and false accusations, but lacking the patience now to verbally contest the claims, Elsa silenced the man by shooting an icicle into the desk in front of him before she grabbed the chain of Belle's handcuffs. There was no difficulty in breaking the brittle metal with the cold alone, rather than cycling through unmarked keys.

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked, having activated her voice scrambler and restraining the amount of emotion she displayed in front of her mercifully safe friend.

"Yes," Belle quickly answered, despite being slightly shaky on her feet as she got up. "But we have to get these people out of here quickly. That bastard's been killing one of us every twenty minutes."

"Where is he?"

Now on her feet, Belle paused as if she had been presented with the most painful question in the world. Wordlessly, she glanced over her shoulder and Elsa followed the line of vision. The bench itself was sat behind one of those comically oversized piles of presents, providing the pair with a modicum of cover. However, as Elsa peered around the bright boxes and ribbons, she was horrified to see what she had missed in her fixation of assuring the hostages' safety.

Standing there, under a bright spotlight which cut through the dingy illumination of the fairy lights, was the White Knight. He stood rigidly, expectantly, even robotically in the remarkably dustless column of light. And he was staring straight back at her.

"He's just waited over there for all the time he hasn't been killing us," Belle whispered fearfully, trying he absolute hardest to not look at him. "He can't be human, can he? Didn't he die at the _Lumiere_?"

"Get the rest of these people out of here," Elsa instructed, calmly, evenly, having to drag her eyes away from Belle to gaze on at the patient form she hated more than any other. "I'll buy you time."

For a ghastly moment, Elsa thought Belle was going to argue with her. And if she had, then Elsa probably would have given in to cowardice; because it was just her facing the Knight. No back up, no tricks, only the Snow Queen. It was difficult to quell the cold compulsion to run away with the remaining hostages, although then there would be nothing to stop the White Knight from attacking. Even if Elsa were to throw up a barricade of ice she doubted it would buy her that much longer. The one thing she had known throughout her search for him was that he always had an escape route and he was going to stop at nothing to reach her.

In the end, Belle didn't voice any concern she had. She probably realised that options were few as well, and accepted that the best course would be for the Snow Queen to distract the lunatic. All Elsa was hope that maybe, if Belle had known it was her in the blue suit, she would have said something more than 'Okay'.

That also would have made Elsa's resolve crumble into panic. So, in the attempt to not waste a minute longer, she handed Belle the keys to the handcuffs, nodded once, and then strode away with her back straight and chin high. It took so much effort not to look back. There was only the sound of whispered assurances and tinkling chains to let her know the hostages were fine.

Throughout this, the White Knight waited patiently at the front of the benches; stance alert, but otherwise respectful. When she was little, Elsa's parents had taken her and Anna to a circus where they had seen a tiger in a cage. That tiger had sat with almost the same intentness of the Knight; deadly, patient, furious, animalistic. One of his hands rested on the hilt of his sword, arms relaxed but itching like a bandit at a high noon shootout. From the movements of his helmet Elsa could see that his eyes were only following her. The hostages were out of his interest. Everything in him was focussed on the approaching form of the Snow Queen.

"_Silent night,"_ He sang menacingly once she was in earshot. "_Holy night. All is calm. All is bright_. Good evening, my liege."

"Try anything, and I will kill you." Elsa warned, her voice quavering only slightly from the expectation that one of them had to die tonight.

The Knight laughed heartily in response, belittling her position, though he remained still with his feet firm in the dust.

"What do you fear I will do? Have the hostages shot? Send an assassin after Mr Hansen or dear sweet Miss Noble? No, such actions should not worry you," The Knight sickeningly soothed, pausing only so that Elsa could hear a patter of footsteps as Belle released more of the hostages, some of whom bolted out of the warehouse as fast and as soon as they could. "I've been a good- Well, alright; I've been a pragmatic boy this year and Santa has brought me what I wished for. All I want for Christmas is you, your Majesty."

Elsa shuddered at the insinuations of his obsession. She opted to remain silent over this, waiting until the last footsteps echoed into nothing and she could be sure that the only person she had to immediately worry for was herself. Then, after a prolonged silence where neither her nor the Knight spoke, she called condensed, rapid flurries to her hands and allowed them to whirl around her fists in challenge.

"You've planned all of this," Elsa said, carefully widening her stance in preparation for a fight. "How did you think it would end?"

"I always hoped we would be in this situation, because it would be the second greatest joy in my life," Her opponent answered whilst maintaining the countenance of a statue. "Then again, I must mourn that our time together has come to an end so soon, your Majesty. No matter. I am certain Anna Noble shall mourn you."

The mention of Anna struck a nerve in Elsa, and she lashed out with a jab to the face. Unfortunately, this was exactly the response the Knight was hoping to elicit. So there was no surprise on either side when the result was that he had caught her fist in mid-air, and was holding it steady with such a contesting force of will that the outside observer would barely have seen them move.

"You killed four people tonight," Elsa hissed, pressing all her force into her captured fist. All the ice in her blood surged to her fingertips and back, and it was only by the shred of restraint she was holding onto that she did not blast his hand off. "This ends now."

"No, my liege," The Knight said with a theatrical sigh. "This only ends when the death count is at _five_."

Speaking no further, the White Knight kicked Elsa's shin with his steel capped boot. The thickness of her own footwear prevented the horse-like kick from bruising her leg horribly, although she still felt the power with which he struck. This blow alone betrayed his strength to be surpassing that of the Stabbingtons' and worryingly, it was also coupled with training. As advantages went, Elsa could only rely on her trump card of the blizzard in her bones.

Once Elsa put her weight back onto the stricken leg, she widened her stance slightly and sought to punch into the side of the Knight's helmet. She had anticipated his natural urge to block the incoming shot, so when his free hand swept upwards to protect his head Elsa pushed forward; forcing her momentum through her still caught fist and adding pressure by curling one foot up into his solar-plexus to send him off-balance.

This attempt worked, although it did not give Elsa as much room as she would have liked. However, she realised that she either needed to be extremely close to the Knight or stand up to ten metres away when she saw him release her fist and immediately reach for his sword. So, doubting that she could achieve such a wide berth before he gave chase, Elsa dived after him; latching onto his searching arm, she twisted underneath it and then pulled his forearm behind his back as she went by. Seeking to anchor him, Elsa then stamped an icicle through the end of his cape and effectively immobilised him for a few moment while protecting herself behind him.

Her new position, while guarded, was not invulnerable. A low growl echoed through the helmet as the White Knight soon whipped around to reduce the strain on his arm and deal a devastating strike to Elsa's shoulder. The shock of his gauntlet against her shunted her back far enough for him to tear the cape from its pinned point, creating a long tear in the material. Of course, that state of his clothing didn't bother him, as the Knight threw out a series of swift jabs at Elsa's hip, chest, face and knee. The first two of these Elsa was able to block, however she couldn't twist up in time to deflect the pound to her check. Luckily the metal of the mask prevented her skull from being fractured, but it drew a rush of heat to her face and she could feel it immediately begin to swell. Similarly, and owing to the brief loss of balance resulting from the headshot, Elsa couldn't guard her knee, resulting in her briefly being felled when the Knight expertly drove his thumb into the back of the joint.

The adrenaline coursing through her in this situation quickly recollected Elsa's senses for her, and she was able to cover an area of the concrete floor in ice just in time for her to slide a few feet back in order to avoid a descending fist which probably would have broken her neck if it had reached its target.

Elsa scrambled to her feet once she had slid back, and proceeded to fling ice at every patch of the floor around her as a frozen moat. As the Knight attempted to follow her, she was pleased to see his grip on the floor become shaky and she almost rejoiced when, with a well-aimed icicle, Elsa knocked her foe onto his back.

With the Knight down, Elsa refused to give him a chance to recover. She flung icicle after icicle at him in the hope that one of them would pierce the suit and wound him. However, like her own costume the white armour was able to take the rapid succession of hits without any signs of damage. The most it did was keep the White Knight kneeling a little longer while the cold needles shattered on his helmet, his chest, his arms, anything. She couldn't tell how much of the force she put into each projectile managed to make it through the material, but he must have been left with a number of bruises forming on his skin. If he even had skin. Elsa was beginning to wonder if he was human at all.

Eventually, despite the constant onslaught, the Knight was able to shrug off the blasts to reach his feet. At this point the sword was finally unsheathed and he was able to cut through the majority of the icy daggers flying in his face. Only the majority. Quite a few still managed to hit home as Elsa tried to keep the next target as far from the previous as possible, so that the Knight couldn't twist his blade and block too many in one go. His position was weakened when Elsa increased the density of her swiftly created weapons to the point where they wouldn't shatter when swept with the blade. A particularly heavy snowball crashed into his stomach, making him bend at the waist as though winded.

But Elsa didn't stop until she'd flung weightier constructs into his shoulders and his legs. Only when he slipped did she pause, wondering if that was all he could take.

This pause proved to be a mistake when the White Knight's stumbling stance suddenly corrected and his flailing free hand reached to the back of his belt to withdraw what looked like, from this distance, a small torch.

"Well, your Majesty," The Knight said between gasps of contained amusement. "That trick of yours is very effective. I must admit that I have not been under such a barrage since I met the Archer. Of course, she ran out of arrows eventually."

"You shouldn't worry about that," Elsa jibed back, her fingers twitching as the cold built up in each digit. "There's no limit to how many I can make."

To demonstrate this, Elsa called another frozen missile into existence and fired it at the Knight. Unlike before, however, he merely leant to one side and allowed the icicle to sail past his head, straight into the pile of oversized presents behind him.

"Yes. That is true," The Knight thoughtfully acquiesced, holding up the little black gadget higher. "However, even Gods have weaknesses. You are only a woman. Granted, you are able to do what no one else can. But are you not susceptible, like the rest of humanity, to fire?"

His thumb pressed down on the top of the device, and the immediate result of this was that the pile of gifts behind him burst into flames. A thin, pale smoke wafted from the licks of the fire as the colourful paper quickly burnt away and the entire structure was lost behind a wall of orange heat. While Elsa watched on, the searing tongues spread further; they began to spark the wooden benches and catch whatever flammable material stood nearby. In less than a minute an entire wall was masked by the haze of the building being consumed by smoke.

This did not particularly perturb Elsa until she realised she was stood between two similar piles of presents which were beginning to grow exponentially warmer. At this point she found it imperative to fling another weighted arrow of ice at the Knight, although the failure to harm him did not surprise her in the slightest. The glint of his sword against the glowing walls slashed through the ice and broke it in half with greater ease than before. Elsa refused to take her eyes off of him now, although she was certain she saw the projectile melt into nothing before it hit the ground. Flexing her fingers, Elsa found she couldn't create a new one. She was on her own now.

"You will perhaps recall, your Majesty," The pale demon commented, twirling his sword around his body as if stretching for the coming fight. He slowly advanced through the hell he had created, taking careful steps around any flames which blocked his path. "That a few months ago you rescued a family from a burning apartment block. I found the experiment quite conclusive for what I was planning then, although I am glad now that I was able to strike a deal with the good Stabbingtons. This is a trick I would have only been able to play on you once."

As he stepped forward, Elsa retreated minutely in order to buy herself more time to assess the situation. There was not much further she could go back as a bonfire of gifts blocked her exit, and the sides had more or less been thinned down into a flaming corridor from which she couldn't really escape. Smoke had begun to billow where the fuel was not so cleanly consumed, blocking out Elsa's view of the way she had come in. Hopefully Belle and the other hostages had managed to run a fair distance from the old warehouse, although this did not help Elsa when the same way out had been so efficiently cut off.

The Knight was closing in now, the tip of his sword held out at arm's length. With her powers effectively neutralised, there only remained the patterns of fighting Shang had taught her all those years ago. Elsa doubted these would be enough against an armed opponent. Especially given the stories she'd heard about the man in the Tung Shao Pass.

Elsa took a further step back into the very edge of safety; a position which was crumbling around her all the time. In front of her there was the Knight, ready to cut her to ribbons. Behind her was a growing inferno which was roasting her bare skin and baking the suit that should have been fighting off the worst effects. Nowhere to run to.

Her eyes fixed in the direction of the Knight, Elsa sought endlessly for a way out. And the best chance she had was barely visible through the smoke and flame which continued to erupt over the Knight's shoulder. If she squinted, Elsa could just make out a stairwell which had escaped the blaze so far. It probably lead into the upstairs offices, but it would also take her away from this hellhole and provide her a possible chance to escape if the fire was yet to penetrate the upper levels. There may only be a few minutes where that would be useful path, but Elsa was determined to make the best of it.

It was for this reason that Elsa planted her feet carefully, hunching her shoulders and keeping her guard close as the masked man neared. She would get one chance at this. Elsa knew she had to be entirely convinced the entire way through that she could do this. Admittedly, her convictions frequently lapsed in the face of adverse danger, but she only needed a brief window of unbending commitment to her goal. Then Elsa would have the high ground, and could renew her efforts to take out the megalomaniac.

And there was only one thought which made Elsa's legs grow tense in anticipation, which made her sharpen her focus to the narrow corridor of fire and getting out of there. She had to keep Anna safe. Anna came first.

So when the Knight was finally within striking distance, Elsa made the gut motion to twist out of the path of his sword. The shining blade sailed under her shoulder with a margin of a bare inch, stabbing uselessly into the smoke which had been growing behind her. Eager to be free of the proximity, Elsa then swiped her opposing arm under the Knight's wrist at the same time she shifted herself completely out of the sword's path. There was no doubt the Knight could see what she was doing, and it surprised Elsa when he merely allowed her to force his sword arm up and out of harm's way.

This willingness, it turned out, only allowed the Knight to use the remaining gauntlet to punch Elsa in the ribs. Naturally, she bent double at the blow, but Elsa used this motion to jab her index finger into the rough position where the Knight's throat would be at its softest. There was a splutter which announced her success, and the foe slackened despite his obvious efforts to remain resolute.

With the opportunity arising in this low position, Elsa kicked one of her feet into the Knight's Achilles tendon. His stance widened just enough to unbalance him, she next japed through the gap in his legs, lifted, and watched as she managed to topple the Knight into the flames beside them. It was an eerie vanishing act to lose sight of her opponent among the fire and smoke, yet this presented the best moment for Elsa to unthinkingly dash towards the now-smouldering stairwell.

She knew being thrown into fire would not stop the Knight. During her few encounters with blazes in the brief time she had been the Snow Queen, Elsa was well aware that if her suit could insulate extreme heat then the Knight's probably would as well. Given the full body armour he wore, she knew better than to expect a single burn to hinder him. He would be untouched by the flames.

And this proved to be correct, as when Elsa neared the stairs a burning fist jabbed from out of the smoke and caught her in the neck. Elsa gasped when she was briefly cut off from the thickening air, but the thought of Anna renewed her spirit. She got up before the Knight strike again and did the only thing she could manage.

Guessing the approximate area where the Knight was hiding, Elsa unleashed a wave of ice. Obviously the blast was short lived and lacked force, although it was not Elsa's intention at that moment to wound the Knight. Instead, she allowed the surge of frost to melt rapidly into steam, which hissed threateningly enough to buy her the vital seconds she needed to disappear up the stairwell.

Without looking back, Elsa searched for the coolest available room to make a defensive spot. She was well aware of the light, rapid footsteps which tailed her, closing in on her. Smoke was already beginning to filter through the worn carpet. Whatever safe spot Elsa found, she knew she would have to be able to secure it quickly.

And, by an almost meaningless stroke of luck, she spotted an open door directly ahead of her. It was no safer than the other offerings around her in terms of sanctuary, but the main distinction was the fact that, through the slight haze, she could spot the welcoming dark of a window. That screamed that her option were still open, and it was for this reason that Elsa darted into the old office, slammed the door, and froze the wood directly into the frame.

Mere seconds later, the hammering of metal on icy wood echoed through. He was still coming. And the heat was building exponentially.

By this time, Elsa could clearly see the glow of the approaching flames underneath the door. The window beckoned behind her as a possible exit, although this would mean having to cushion a three storey fall which would certainly involve spraining or breaking a few bones. But even if this was viable, there would be no guarantee that the Knight would be stopped. At this very moment Elsa could hear him pounding against the frozen door. The icy barricade wouldn't hold against the growing heat much longer and there had barely been enough time for him to be singed. He would escape, and then he would go after Belle, and Kristoff, and Olaf, and most importantly, Anna.

Unless she could get them all out of the city first. Hopefully Elsa had injured the Knight enough to slow him down for at least a little while. Would she have long enough to get everyone she loved out of Arendelle? It may be too close to call. Elsa would have to try and hurt the Knight a little bit more before she escaped through the window.

With a final shove, the slickening ice shattered and the White Knight forced himself into the office. It was a hellish apparition to witness. That form was the devil himself backed by flames. There wasn't even a burn on the costume, no gathering of smoke on the ivory cloth, like even fire refused to touch him. It dully returned to Elsa that their suits were flames retardant. Not even his cape had nurtured the heat.

"Your Majesty," The Knight cooed through the smoke. "Were you thinking of leaving so soon? We were just really getting to know each other."

He lifted the sword to shoulder height, pointing it directly towards Elsa's neck. The blade glowed with warmth, evidently having been held into the fire for a short while. Obviously, he was trying to scare her. But instead, it reminded Elsa of a similar confrontation with a sword only two nights before.

"Why don't you make this easier for us both?" He offered with the appeal of a black mamba. "You want to save people. I want you out of my way. It would be a mutually beneficial sacrifice, my liege."

Despite his bravado in taunting her, Elsa noticed that her opponent was taking careful steps in order to guard his stance. She, too, could feel that the floor was sagging underneath them; the fire was eating away at any supporting beams and smouldering through what little material divided them from the room below. This could be her chance. It would rely on the Knight becoming unbalanced as much as Elsa acting first, although with a little forced timing it could be done.

Bearing this in mind, Elsa retreated in search of an uneven floorboard. With the wood-warping inferno beneath them, this was not difficult; she found one within two steps of her original position. This played to her advantage, and the shards of broken glass which met her splayed palm when she toppled backwards made the performance more convincing. The wince of pain she allowed to manifest when a particularly thick shard dug into her hand sealed the deal.

The White Knight was convinced she had been neutralised, although he still made those small, fencing steps in case she was going to pounce on him. On his approach there was a wobble in his gait as the floor caved a bit more. But this didn't stop him in standing over her, the burning sword pointing into her chest.

"How the mighty fall," The Knight commented, somewhat mournfully. "Any last words?"

Gazing in genuine fear at the blade, Elsa maintained a stony silence. Her fingers curled on the smoking carpet; the shard of glass which had pierced her skin dug deeper.

"Shame. You did well," The executioner moaned. "General Shang could have been proud."

With that, the Knight raised his sword higher to deliver the decisive blow. And it was this moment that Elsa had been waiting for.

When the sword was at its highest point and beginning the plunge at the targeted heart, Elsa swept her hand up in defence. Given the sword arm was out of the way, she had been granted a clear shot at the Knight's helmet, and a mixture of glass and frost hit home on the visor. A thick white layer materialised over his eyes; he was rendered blind as he put all his power into the plunge.

This swift loss of vision allowed Elsa to use the momentum of her throwing arm to roll herself onto her side, and got her just out of the path of the blade in time to see the hot silver stab into the floor. Heart racing, she used this chance to blast the point where the wooden handle met the metal with a coating of ice from her uninjured hand. The chilling force caused the Knight to release his grip while he simultaneously attempted to clear his vision. In turn, the necessary opportunity presented itself for Elsa to kick at the lump of ice over the joint of the blade. To hear the brittle snap of a rapidly cooled strip of metal was music to her ears, and parted the grip from the shaft. In all, Elsa had effectively reduced the Knight's trusted weapon to a sundial. There was little chance of him picking it up again now there was nothing to hold on to.

As a result of this act, Elsa now had a chance to overpower the White Knight. His motion to remove the icy film from his helmet presented her with a chance to kick the back of his knee seconds after breaking the handle. A dip in the floor appeared with miraculous timing, bringing the foe down while Elsa twisted herself up to take his place.

Not one to go down with a fight, the Knight forced himself to his knees and attempted to swat any part of Elsa he could find. His visor had only been half-revealed, although the grains of glass had imprinted a number of long scratches where they had been swept off by an angry gauntlet. This barely gave him any more sight then before, meaning Elsa had no difficulty in deflecting the blind jabs he directed at her stomach and hips.

Then, taking the chance once the space between his fists had been widened, Elsa kneed the faceplate of his helmet. Already damaged by frost and glass, the blow sent a crack through the visor; chipping a piece of the black plastic away at the jaw.

Her adversary dazed briefly, all that was left to do was force him into an inescapable position. To achieve this, Elsa grabbed the back of the helmet with her good hand as the other created an ice blade similar to the one she used on the fake Knight forty-eight hours previously. She pressed the very tip of the shimmering weapon to the Knight's throat, applying only enough pressure to demonstrate who was in charge.

"I win." Elsa said, staring at the spot where she thought his eyes would be.

In the corner of her eye, she could see the very first glimpse of the man underneath the mask. The gap which had been smashed into the visor was only a few centimetres across, but it was enough to reveal one half of a mouth which was smiling with a trickle of blood escaping the lips. It was a well-practiced grin deliberately chosen to put her off by its cockiness, and Elsa could have sworn there was a familiarity to it. A quality of knowledge which extended beyond their conflict.

"Congratulations, your Majesty," The Knight said. Although the faceplate had been pierced, the voice modifier had somehow escaped the damage and continued to distort what he said. There was only a minute change in the grating sound it produced, not enough to hear what the Knight's real voice was like. "You have bested me physically. General Shang would be proud after all."

"Who are you?" Elsa pressed. She could tell he was trying to mess with her head again, and she refused to fall into any mental traps he had said. Despite the gravity of the smoky room and what she was telling herself, the inaccurate reference to Shang being a general was carefully filed away in her head for later.

"Oh, my liege, I cannot tell you," The Knight apologised with the grin penetrating into his tone. "My master taught me that I should never reveal my name in the line of my duty, even to so worthy an enemy. However, I cannot stop you unmasking me. Go on. There's a clasp on each side of my head."

The warnings of Kristoff and Olaf sprung to mind as Elsa was told this. If ever there was going to be a trick, this would be the prime moment. The White Knight, from all observations, had been neutralised. No weapons, no further plan. All he had ever wanted was to destroy the Snow Queen. And it appeared that he had failed, which made him more dangerous than a calm warrior ever could be. That smile was venomous, waiting to spit acid. So Elsa had to resist temptation.

"_Who are you?_" She repeated, digging the frosty tip of her melee weapon further into the unforgiving material. Despite her resolve, though, her gaze flicked to the claimed location of the clasp in case she did have to resort to revealing his identity by force, and then went back to his eyes in the space of a second.

But this was all the time the Knight required.

With the speed of a striking cobra, the Knight withdrew a concealed blade from a sheath that must have been attached to his back and hidden beneath his cape. Wasting no time and barely looking away from her face, he plunged the knife through the tiny hole he had cut in the front of the suit the night before, and then drove it into Elsa's chest just below her ribcage. The act of cutting into her flesh required no more effort than slicing through butter, so that he had penetrated up to the hilt of the knife before Elsa could react.

The pain ripped through her as the Knight twisted the blade. Her shoulders slackened and her breath became trapped in her throat. Every inhalation stung. The slightest movement widened the sweep of the short blade, etching more cuts, piercing more muscles and organs. All Elsa could feel was physical agony. It took all her focus to remain standing. Her mind was reeling from overwhelming signals of self-preservation that she couldn't enact.

His foe caught in shock, the Knight swiped his free arm past his neck to bat away the loosely held, now rapidly melting icicle. Determination resurged in him, and he pounced upwards to bring his fist under Elsa's chin; knocking her head back painfully. Next, once Elsa's face had lolled back to watch him with glassy eyes, he brought the same fist against the edge of the mask in one, two, three brutal pounds before he gripped the metal cover and tore it away from her. Her concealment ruined, he tossed the blue mask through the door to the inferno, and then held her neck with a crushing grasp.

"Hello,_ Elsa_," He hissed with unspeakable loathing, the visible corner of his mouth curled in an animalistic snarl. "I'm afraid you can't hide behind hopeful doubt anymore. I've always known _exactly_ who you are. I've just enjoyed playing with you, making you scared. It's been very entertaining; having you run all across Arendelle after your sister, and your cousin, and your friends."

Weakly, Elsa gripped the thick wrist extending to her neck in a vain attempt to pull it away. Spots were beginning to cloud her vision in swarms of blue and black and white. There was no strength left in her to break the hold. No matter how much she willed it, no forces of winter came to her aid. The most she managed was rolling the sleeve from his gauntlet to reveal a white forearm with a long, recently stitched wound etched across it. In desperation, she clawed into the red line in an attempt to break the thread. In response, the Knight howled and twisted the knife in her stomach further.

"You must realise by now that you can't harm me," He whispered, bringing her face closer to his ear. Lifting her with blade and grip, the White Knight dragged her to the window, forcing her to lean out over the edge. "Because I know _everything_ about you. I know where you work. I know where you live. I know who you talk to and what you like to do in your spare time. And I have tabs on your sister. Anna Noble. So before you think about coming after me again, remember that I can arrange for her to meet the same end as your parents did."

Upon hearing the threat, the new information, Elsa almost vomited. Had there not been a clamp-like hand constricting her airway, she probably would have. He had been pulling strings in her life for years. He had violated her world without her ever being aware. And all he did was smile as if the memory was among his happiest.

"That cell phone I gave you," He said without a trace of emotion now. The grip on the knife was released for the few seconds it took him to make sure the phone was still attached to her belt. "It's been wired so that while you can call others, it will only work once, and for three minutes. If you live long enough, make sure the call is wisely made."

With nothing left for either of them to say, the Knight withdrew the knife from Elsa's chest. Having the weapon removed was far more painful than its entry, but Elsa was unable to cry in the pain. Every alarm bell in her head was ringing without pause. A cacophony of thought she couldn't break through, and threatened to swallow her even as her consciousness grew fuzzy around the edges.

All there was to do was stare at the hateful grimace of the Knight as he pushed her through the window.

* * *

Elsa wasn't aware she had fallen until her shoulder blades crunched against the lid of a dumpster. This crash flipped her in a painful, jagged somersault which deposited her roughly in the deserted alleyway amongst piles of garbage bags. She lay there, in shock, for an indeterminable length of time and shivered uncomfortably. His words still rang through her head, his meaning clear. This was a deal-breaker in her life as the Snow Queen. It was a deal-breaker for her life as a whole.

One of the few things she had remembered after her fall was to keep her hand clamped against her chest. Every breath was harsh, and pulled unpleasantly on her ribs. There couldn't be much longer she could last without needing medical attention. Even now, she would need more than Pabbie's skills and limited resources to fix this. That is, if he would come to her assistance again.

In her other hand, Elsa still grasped the cell phone which had been mockingly gifted to her. If what she had been told was in fact true, then she only had one phone call left. Part of her wondered whether the promise was valid, but it was her sole hope now. There was only the issue of who to call.

Naturally, the emergency services should be first to know that she was in dire need of help. They would also be the best equipped to rectify her wounds. Sadly, this would lead to the public discovering that Elsa Noble was the Snow Queen. And this would bring everything she had worked for to complete devastation before her enemies could make good on their promises. Prison, exile and possibly execution would await her if Elsa resorted to calling the hospital.

Alternatively, she could call Olaf or Kristoff. Elsa knew in this case she could count on them, despite their earlier arguments. But there was no guarantee she would reach them. In the wake of the blizzards, it was unlikely their phones would receive any signal. It was already patchy enough as it is, and she may not have time to give her location. She cursed herself for thinking she could do this without telling anyone where she was. And as for their landlines; Olaf was still living with Kristoff, and Elsa had no idea what the blond's number was. Neither of them were home anyway, in all likelihood.

There was Belle, whose phone number was still engrained in Elsa's mind. At this moment, Belle was among the highest ranks of people Elsa wanted to speak to, if only fleetingly and for vain comfort. However, for the same reasons the hospital couldn't be called, Elsa's friend from the Mayor's Office was not allowed to know her secret yet. One day, should Elsa live through this, maybe. But not now, under these circumstances. Especially when it had been going so well for them.

Thus, Elsa was left with just one option. But this one wouldn't be a call for help so much as it was an apology. Perhaps, in her fading mind, it was better because of this fact. Therefore, with a shaky hand Elsa carefully typed in the only landline number she knew and held the cell phone against her ear.

With a deep intent, Elsa listened as the call tones droned into eternity. Two, then four, then eight. Each one longer than the last but passing with a terrifying speed. No answer.

"Come on, come on," Elsa pleaded with the imaginary forces which governed her universe. "Please. Pick up, Anna, pick up."

Yet still, there was nothing. The phone rang a generous twenty times, then there was a momentary quiet. Elsa dared to hope that she would hear the voice she wanted to most of all. Then an emotionless, electronic recording told her Anna wasn't in and that Elsa should leave a message after the beep. Elsa groaned in the tragedy of it. Her single call was wasted, and she was sure she was going to die soon.

The beep rang while Elsa was distracted by inspecting her wound. It was definitely deep, but there was too much blood to check.

"Anna," Elsa said as calmly as she could, although the tremor of fear was clear for her sister to hear when she eventually got the message. "Listen. I-… I'm sorry. So sorry. For everything. Everything's that's happened to us over the years. It's all my fault. And you deserve to know the truth…"

Vital seconds ticked away as Elsa tried to order her waning thoughts into a brief narrative, into a very fine explanation which could satisfy her sister. But words slipped through her fingers just as her lifeblood did. She barely registered her violent shaking as the cold around intensified. This was the first time she had ever been cold. Her fingers were going numb. The swarms in eyes flitted faster in a greater intensity.

"Mama and Papa died because of me…" This was the fact which was clearest in her head while she tried to remember absolutely everything. "Rapunzel was injured because of me… Marshall died because of me… You've always been endangered… by me," Breath was hard to find now. No matter how she tried, not enough air entered her lungs. And she was beginning to lose her grip on the phone. Was this how it would end? Dying, crying in the snow? "This isn't going to make sense… I don't have enough… Time to explain… Ask Kristoff… But you need to know, Anna… I wanted to tell you… That I'm…"

The final descent was not what Elsa had expected. She had always thought death would have been a gradual failing of the body as the systems shut down in a procession of importance. But this was not to be, as the air finally ended and her arm fell prone. The phone slipped away from her grasp, and Elsa slumped against the trashcan, half of her face in the snow, and a growing pool of pink expanding in front of her.

So this was it. This was how she ended. Never living to see the consequences of her actions.

The final thing she saw before falling unconscious was the vague outline of someone rushing towards her.

* * *

**Please Review**

**(And go check out **_**The Archer of Dunbroch **_**and **_**The Vigilantes of Corona**_**)**


	31. The Man in White - Part Six

**Okay then, here we are. **_**Finally**_** on the last part of this arc. Finally at the halfway point of this story. That's right, this is only half. There's a long way to go yet.**

**Had a nice, generally positive response to the last chapter. Glad so many of you enjoyed it. That fight scene's been playing out in my head for about a year and a half. It's brilliant to be able to think of other future fight scenes now (which are probably even further off unless I really up the ante or get a ghost writer or something). **

**So many responses were there, some of them quite detailed, I'm going to save time by responding to the major things I picked up. First of all, to the guest who thought the end of that fight was cliché, I do see what you mean. Throughout that fight I was trying to portray Elsa and the White Knight as being relatively balanced in term of skill, but the entire thing had been set up by the Knight and I thought it would be more devastating to Elsa to think she's won and then be beaten. That may not have worked as well as I'd hoped. I'll bear this in mind for the next fight, and thank you for your honesty.**

**To the bizarrest serial guest reviewer in recent times, to be honest I find your position confusing. Disliking the canon is fine. A bit odd (given where we are in the internet), but fine. Disliking the sisterly strife is also okay. I think I'm dragging it a bit sometimes. But that is where the most of the characters' dynamics come from, and it's a major part of the story. Even in fics where Elsa and Anna aren't related there's quite a bit of 'strife' to keep things interesting and to explain some of their motivations or fears. And good characters always have a flaw, otherwise they're unrealistic as people. Besides, it's about 30 chapters too late for me to make Elsa and Anna unrelated. Sorry.**

**And grudge guest. Not exactly sure what the 'other grudges' that I'll deserve are. But I'm glad to see you like Elsa and want her to be alright. This 'grudge' thing has given me a lot to think about.**

**As always, thanks to everyone who left a comment. Some were quite in depth, which I always love seeing, and I'll try to keep it up. Hopefully the next chapter will address all the immediate questions you have.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

The warehouse was roaring into nothing with every passing second as he approached. A great cloud of smoke pierced into the ashen sky and was highlighted by blazing orange frenzy which crackled underneath it. By now, all of Arendelle could see the monument of destruction, marked out on the horizon as the clocks chimed the countdown to Christmas day. Ten minutes until a so-called day of peace and goodwill. He would have scoffed if he were not terrified, shaking violently from the pure emotion rather than the cold.

He shuffled through the inches of snow, ambling manically towards the blinding centre of the blaze from across the parking lot. There was only so long he could have waited. Especially since he was convinced he had spotted a body fall out of the top floor window. Instructions be damned. Someone clearly needed his help, and he only hoped it was not too late to make a difference.

As he closed in on the warehouse, the air became terrifically thick with smoke and moisture from the melting snow. His lungs were nearly hacked out of his chest as braved the dense atmosphere and the heat of hell in an attempt to find what he hoped he wouldn't. A heavy hand was pressed against his mouth in a weak effort to keep the hot swirl of carbon and water out of his mouth, giving him just enough oxygen to dive further into the alley he swore he saw the victim tumble into. His other hand held onto the first-aid kit tightly, a collection of tools he felt would be too meagre to make a difference now.

It was far worse in the tight space between the two buildings; one being rapidly consumed from within by the out-of-control element and the other starting to catch the spark which shot out from the glassless windows. He found himself leaning forward, lower to the floor, where the heat was not so intense and the air gloriously thinner, cleaner. Once or twice he almost overbalanced in his race against fear, his head beginning to swim from the close, dirty gases which collected in this enclosed space.

When he finally found what he was looking for, he wanted to believe he was hallucinating more than viewing reality.

The first sign he found, having been staring directly into the pavement on this dash through the alley, was the slim river of crimson trickling towards the storm drain. This was the kind of nightmarish clue he sincerely hoped was a symptom of insanity, but this became undeniable as he went further on. The flow became thicker as he went along, his steps shortening under the terror of the truth.

And that was when he found her.

She lay there, paler than the snow, body prone and slumped among a collection of neglected trashcans. One arm lay outstretched from her, fingers reaching for a cheap little cell phone, while the other limply clutched at her abdomen, in the rough spot where her ribcage ended. It was from this point that the river of blood sprung, a thin coating of browning, drying red which marred the sparkling blue of the suit. The stream had diminished into the tiniest of trickles now, although whether this was thanks to a clot or she had bled out already was unclear.

Her face, though, was the scariest part of this ghastly image. A long cut had been scratched into her forehead and her upper lip was tarnished with the same threatening crimson. Purple bruises were starting to rise over her left temple, leading into her tangled, soot-stained platinum bangs. Her jaw was slack, lips open and readable as having attempted speech not long previously. And most crushing of all were her eyes. The left eye was swelling shut with bright discolouration, although it still managed to provide a crack of vision in tandem with the other sparkles, glassy pupil which stared out, straight past him.

He paused as the shock struck him. Dearly he wished this was another person entirely, just so he could detach himself. Detachment was always key in his line of work. But there was no way on earth that he could remove his emotions from the equation at the sight of Elsa Noble lying unconscious in the gutter.

Vital seconds ticked away before he could bring himself to touch her, let alone move her. Once he did, he found that her skin was colder than was healthy even for her, and sticky with the coat of her blood. Alarm at the sensations under his fingers rang through his nerves as he took both of her hands and dragged her back down the alley into the cleaner air. He tried not to notice how her head hung back between her shoulders, nor how the jostling reopened the wound in her stomach. But unfortunately; he was weak and she was weighed down with muscle.

Not only was he furious with himself for standing aside and allowing this to happen, but he felt the fury of the dead levelled on him as well. He could picture Adgar and Idunn raging at him from their watery graves, more so than they had in his dreams these last four years. Unwavering, unforgiving rage that their daughter had been left like this, that he hadn't tried to save her before this moment. The only peace he could try to broker with the ghosts of his friends was in a last ditch attempt to minimise the damage. And that was the only thought Pabbie tried to entertain as he lay Elsa in the snow and began to examine her life signs.

Through shaky, numbing fingertips a pulse could just be registered as struggling against the injuries. Putting an ear to her chest, Pabbie listened intently and watched her stomach like a hawk for any indication of breath. The rise and fall of her lungs was minute, but existent. Her heart was racing with a hum of shallow beats, but it was there. That was already more than Pabbie had hoped with his professional opinion. At least she had a fighting chance.

Wasting no further time with panic, Pabbie immediately set to work on mending the immediate threats to her life; and threw open the aid kit in search of anything to staunch the bleeding with. The most effective item he could find on hand was gauze and surgical tape, leading him to improvise on bandages. First, he tore a wider hole in the front of Elsa's suit so that he had full access to the deceptively slim puncture. Despite the well of lifeblood oozing in sticky coagulants, the entry wound was only a rough inch in length and thin as a line drawn by a marker pen. This made it easy for Pabbie to bundle the gauze into a thick pad which would completely cover the incision, an artificial barrier he then pressed down and taped tightly to her abdomen in order to completely cut off the spillage. Pabbie made a careful note of how long it took the tinge of red to spread to the clinical white surface of the bandage, and was immensely traumatised when he realised this meant the knife must have dug deep into her stomach.

The next problem which faced him was insuring Elsa had enough blood to continue the flow of oxygen to her brain. Given how much she had lost and how shallow her breathing was, it was a wonder she hadn't entered into cardiac arrest, although Pabbie found it difficult to tell whether her higher functions were still intact. Shining a torch into her good eye revealed that while her pupil did dilate, it only did so slowly. If she was going to stand any kind of chance, she was going to need an emergency transfusion. Unfortunately, Pabbie was well aware it could not be him unless he wanted to risk sending Elsa into shock. Instead, he would have to get her as stable as possible, mask her identity as the Snow Queen, and then call an ambulance. But without a transfusion, Elsa's position became all the more precarious.

"Elsa!" Pabbie hissed into her ear intently. "Elsa! Can you hear me? Elsa, you have to stay awake, you have to focus. Elsa!"

"What the hell are you doing?" An unfamiliar voice butted in from alarmingly nearby.

Pabbie shot up faster than he believed his old back would have allowed, his hand instinctively diving into his coat pocket and retrieving his old service revolver which he had picked up in case he had to fight anyone off. The person he was met with was not the one he had feared would materialise in this scenario, however it was also not one he recognised. Out of all the things he had seen in the last few months, the woman before him was among the most bizarre. This stranger was wearing odd, polymer-based black armour over what appeared to be a skydiving suit. Her face was hidden beneath a reflective visor which betrayed only her sceptical scowl, and her feet were suspended between two slim wheels which stayed close to her boots but did not actually touch them.

"Woah, calm down there, Pops," The stranger commented at the sight of the barrel, lacking any expected form of surprise. She removed her helmet as a sign of goodwill, revealing the face of comparable age to Anna. "I'm here to help the Snow Queen. Officer Bjorgman sent me."

Hand shaky, Pabbie gradually dropped the revolver and returned to kneeling at Elsa's side. Her pulse became marginally fainter, although in her condition this spoke volumes. If he didn't find a donor soon there was no way he could save her. So for once, Pabbie shelved his usual distrust of bizarrely costumed aides. This wheeled woman had a fifty-fifty chance of being useful.

"What's your blood-type?" Pabbie questioned, angrily motioning for her to come nearer.

"O positive." The woman answered dispassionately as she joined him at Elsa's side. Pabbie envied her detachment in this situation, but also thanked the God he didn't believe in that she had arrived in time.

"Excellent, Elsa is B positive," Pabbie fleetingly explained as he withdrew a rubber pipe and two syringes. "Give me your arm."

She grimaced upon sight of the needle, but with consideration of the endangered life before her she offered her forearm very begrudgingly. There was a wince as the sharp point pierced her hastily located vein, although she did her best to ignore it as the syringe was taped into place and the pipe was attached. A rich stream of red burst up the rubber tube until it met the block of pressure Pabbie exerted on it with a small clamp. Once the other end had been inserted into Elsa's bone-white wrist the tube was released and the flow of the stranger's blood ran straight into the blue veins.

"What's your name?" Pabbie asked out of forgotten ideal of politeness. "I am Dr Ernest Pabbie."

"Leiko Tanaka," She replied, however unwillingly she made it sound. "And this is… Elsa Noble, apparently?"

"You best not tell anyone who she is," Pabbie lowly warned, despite the fact he thought Tanaka would not believe a threat from him. "I will ruin whatever career you're trying to make of that suit."

Tanaka shrugged the warning off, as expected, and made her own investigation of Elsa's pulse. Her eyebrows furrowed as she felt all over the free wrist, then pressed her fingers along Elsa's neck. No trace of panic graced her expression, although her searching hand made Pabbie fear that he had missed the worst.

"Yeah, pops? I think her heart's stopped."

Pabbie was struck still as a statue as the dreaded words were spoken. His first instinct was to deny that such a statement could be true, that Tanaka was wrong. What was she? A student? He had nearly sixty years of medical practice and research behind him. So Elsa's heart couldn't have stopped. That was a simple lie. Elsa was too young for her heart to fail.

Except then he forcibly told himself that this position was foolish and not befitting of a professional with six decades of experience. With great reluctance he reached forward and felt the other side of Elsa's neck. He patted in small circles, hoping to find even a trace of heartbeat. But there was none. Her veins were still, cold, lifeless. Feeling along the left side of her chest there was none even the tiniest of thumps to indicate the smallest of sparks.

A horrible gasp ripped through him and the ghosts in his mind bellowed in rage. Pabbie had to turn away from the sheer horror of this reality. Through his inaction, Elsa was injured. Under his care, her heart had stopped. There was nothing he could do. All his life he had been able to work with professional distance, automatic acceptance if he ever failed to heal and an ability to move on as soon as it happened. In the course of his work, Pabbie had never fathered children nor had he felt any greater fondness for his younger patients when he had been practicing medicine. But with Elsa's body completely devoid of any movement, Pabbie felt the stone of his heart crack and crumble as he could only see the eight-year-old who had turned to him for help.

Behind him, the walls of warehouse finally gave in and fell in on themselves. The flames were smothered briefly, their glow diminishing. A few moments later they burst through the pile of rubble to consume whatever fuel remained in the bricks and the wooden panels. Pabbie had to spin back to Elsa's body to avoid the renewed blinding glare of the core of the fire. And he was dimly intrigued by the grunting and cursing he heard spilling from Tanaka's mouth as she tried to remove her chest plate with one hand.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice flat with defeat.

"My Grandad was an engineer in the Korean War," Tanaka said with just a trace of determined emotion in her voice. Her attention was split between keeping her punctured forearm as still as possible and shrugging off the bulky armour while explaining herself. "He told me once that part of his job was salvaging and mending whatever he could find on the battlefield. I think he was at Inchon. And he told me that he never accepted that he couldn't mend the junk the allies and the commies left behind. Him fixing things under that kind of stress made me want to be an engineer."

With a final, violent shrug Tanaka managed to release the chestplate from her torso, although she ignored the moulded plastic. Instead, she dragged the reverse piece of armour from her back. From inside it, she tore out a large, flat grey rectangle connected to the rest of her suit by a series of wires.

"Why does that matter?" Pabbie grumbled, trying his best not to look at Elsa. But Tanaka's cannibalisation of her suit failed to hold him. He had never had a head for technology, and he was lost when she ripped a switch out of her glove.

"Because, Pops, your generation is always talking about how my generation doesn't persevere," Tanaka lectured with a brief revival of her snark. "And you're giving up because Noble doesn't have a heartbeat. I would have thought you'd share my Grandad's maxim that it's not over until you give up. Do you know CPR?"

"Of course I do."

"Well get at it," She instructed with no room for debate as she began fiddling about with the components she had salvaged. Her fingers were definitely feeling the chill, making it hard for her grip the thin bits of wire and thread them through the little gadgets lying across the snow. Yet she didn't stop going, even when she couldn't move one of her arms fully. Tanaka had changed from the uncaring woman who had first appeared before him. "Woman up and keep going until I say so."

Reluctantly, Pabbie got down on his knees and placed both his hands over Elsa's heart. It felt incredibly wrong to touch such an ice cold form. Although he was willing to try anything to help her, even if he didn't entirely trust Tanaka. So he counted out the beats and compressed Elsa's chest relentlessly while he waited for Tanaka to finish whatever it was she was building from the scraps. With each thrust he could feel Elsa's ribs dip and bounce back, although less force rebounded into his palms each time. The last he wanted to do was break a bone and puncture her lung. Fortunately, Tanaka gave a hiss of success before any terrible damage could be done.

"Here, hold these over her heart," Tanaka intrusted as she thrust two ends of wire into Pabbie's hands. She'd stripped back part of the rubber coating to reveal the copper prongs, and at her behest Pabbie stuck the tips of metal into Elsa's flesh on either side of her heart. Inspecting the rest of the improvised contraption, he realised both strands of wire had been grafted into the grey pack, presumably the battery, and the entire contraption was tied into the small button. "Clear!"

She flicked the switch, and instantly Elsa's entire body twitched violently. Her legs kicked upwards and her arms shot out haphazardly while her head rose. All of these movement happened in the barest of seconds before Tanaka flicked the switch again. Elsa fell prone, her limbs floating back into limp positions.

"Pulse?" Tanaka asked expectantly.

Pabbie dropped a wire briefly and felt the pulse point of Elsa's neck again. Nothing.

"Hold on," The engineer instructed as she fiddled with the battery. "Clear!"

There was barely time to dig the slackened wire back into Elsa's chest before the current was activated again. On this attempt, Elsa's thrashing was stronger in her twists and turns; her palms pushing against Pabbie as if she was trying to send him away. This ceased once again Tanaka turned the battery off. Seeing the purpose of this device, Pabbie automatically felt for a pulse. Still nothing.

"Alright, bitch. You may have beaten me in a snowball fight, but," Tanaka cursed under her breath as she pulled off a circuit board which had been completely hidden against the battery. A moment later Pabbie heard a vague threat of: "If this doesn't get results, I swear…"

With the improvised defibrillator activated, Elsa literally jumped into the air as her back arched with an alarming speed and the muscles in her arms and legs supported her. It took all of Pabbie's power to ignore the chilling state and keep the wires pressed into her skin. But he lost concentration when, out of nowhere, Elsa's eyes shot open and she yelled out into the cold night with a petrifyingly pained scream which dragged on until the wires were pulled away from her chest.

Elsa immediately fell back into the snow, her limbs still tight from the shock but uncurling gently. She was still for a few moments, and then a gasp of air rattled through her throat. Her breathing was laboured and deep, but there. Feeling her wrist, Pabbie found the once extinct pulse racing from adrenalin but gradually dying down into a steady rhythm.

In the distance, a clock tower struck midnight and rung in Christmas Day.

* * *

When Elsa next returned to the land of consciousness the world pained her vision. She found that she was staring directly at a blazing white ceiling through the squint of the one eye she could open. The other took more effort to widen even by a crack, her eyelid feeling extraordinarily thick and sluggish with the few natural twitches she could control. It took a few goes for Elsa to comfortably examine her surroundings, with her thoughts gradually condensing out of the cloud of fuzzy knowledge. By degrees, she came to realize where she was and piece together what happened.

Only a hospital could have such a bright, clinical ceiling; anaemic walls; furniture vacant of familiarity. She'd been given a private room. The curtains were drawn, but Elsa could sense the darkness outside. Part of her was still swimming in that blackness, almost incapable of coming back to her body.

With the lethargic strength of sleep-held muscles, Elsa tried to rub her eyes free of the granules of sand which accumulated in the corners. But she felt a series of needles shift in her forearm and a clamp tug on her finger, anchoring her movement. Her other arm was held in a sling against her chest. Peering at her good hand, Elsa followed the trail of tubes jutting from her veins and found she was connected to a morphine drip, an IV line, and a deep crimson bag of blood. Now that she listened closely, she could pick out the heart monitor calmly counting out a regular, if slightly high, beat.

Despite the obvious indication by the drips that she should stay still, Elsa found it necessary to lean forward. This immediately revealed itself to be a mistake. Elsa gasped deeply under the tearing pain which emanated from her stomach and she fell back into the hospital mattress. The heart monitor spiked with a frantic volley of chirps, although it gradually fell back into an acceptable threshold as the morphine helped the pain disappear.

"Don't move, you fool!" A tired, scared and simultaneously relieved voice instructed from Elsa's right.

Elsa craned her head around to the source at the same time her companion leaned closer to her it. Never had she been so happy to see Anna in her life. Her sister had been curled in the sea-green armchair tucked into the extreme corner behind the bed. Obviously she had been trying to get some rest, however fitfully, as her hair was pressed down on one side and bags were starting to form under her red-rimmed eyes. Anna smiled as best as she could, although the terror she must have had at seeing Elsa like this was clear to see, even to the blonde's painkiller-addled mind.

"Anna? How did I get here?" Elsa croaked. Memories of how the Knight had pushed her from the third-floor window of the warehouse filtered past her eyes, with nothing offered to fill in the blank interval which followed.

"You were mugged," Anna carefully nudged, a lie which Elsa briefly wondered the origin of. "After you left my apartment. You were stabbed? On your way to see Pabbie? The bastards left you in the street, but Pabbie saw it from his window and called nine-one-one. It was really lucky that he spotted you."

Listening to the loose, falsified account of where the injuries came from, Elsa slowly nodded as if she vaguely recalled these as facts. Fortunately, Anna's worries for her safety eclipsed any qualms she may have had about the plausibility of that story.

"Pabbie?" Elsa sceptically asked. The presence of the old man felt like it made sense, even though she couldn't put her finger on why. "How long have I been out?"

"Oh, I don't know. What's the time?" Anna quickly realised that Elsa would have no idea what time it was, and glanced at her phone. "It's just after six in the morning. Pabbie told me you were here just after one. The on-call doctor stitched you up best he could. Apparently you'd been stabbed just above your diaphragm. Nothing else was cut, but Dr Jookiba said it might hurt to breathe for a while."

Her bandage-free arm was just able to reach the point from which the pain emanated. It was true that each breath stung deep in her abdomen, and when Elsa felt through her gown and duvets she found a soft lump of dressing over the point where she had been stabbed. Memories of the Knight's grip on her throat and the dig of the knife cascaded before her eyes, leading her to shut her eyes for a while. Each flash of the past stabbed her head, throbbing with the anger which had been extinguished at her failure. Ghostly promises echoed through her ears and the hospital felt much less secure as it had until now. _He _was out there, somewhere; watching her. He probably knew she was alive already.

"Elsa, are you alright?" Anna softly asked, lightly laying a hand on the shoulder of her bandaged arm. When Elsa quietly began to sob, Anna hugged her tightly, with her head against her sister's chest. "What am I talking about? Of course you're not. What a crappy way to wake up at Christmas."

The fact that it was Christmas Day had been all but forgotten by Elsa. What was supposed to be one of the happiest days of the year had been overshadowed by everything she could recall about the build-up to her mistake. She'd turned on Kristoff and Olaf. Four people had died. The Knight had proven just how dangerous he was. And he was going to come after her. He was going to come after Anna. Just like he had gone after their parents. Everything was just how he wanted it. The Snow Queen had lost. Elsa had lost.

"If it makes you feel better," Anna said after a few moments of silent comfort. "Belle got away from that weirdo. Eight of them survived. She's waiting with the others outside, if you want to see them?"

From a professional point of view, Elsa should have seen a doctor first. Or as Anna suggested, it may do her good to see the people who were waiting or her outside. But she just wanted to stay here for a bit longer, her head burrowed into Anna's shoulder like a child. A calm, bittersweet moment. A consolation before the Knight came back and broke more of her family apart. Elsa had to hold on for as long as possible, because the fight had left her. She was powerless, even to keep her sister close in the grand scheme of things.

Eventually, Elsa was brought back into reality by the interruption of the fattest, strangest looking doctor she had ever seen. She swore she must have been hallucinating from her pain medication, as when the doctor peered over his dark, wide glasses Elsa was certain he had four eyes. In a vague Russian accent, which made it hard for both her and Anna to understand him, he described the injuries she had collected from her 'mugging': a stab wound to the abdomen, a hairline fracture in her right arm, bruising across her face but no sign of a concussion, cracked ribs on the left side of her chest (as a result of CPR), and an alarmingly low body temperature. The fat doctor concluded that she would make a recovery within six weeks with the correct treatment; her knife-induced injury had not required major surgery to mend, and he expected that her body temperature would rise following the blood transfusion.

Then, before Elsa could ask many questions, he stomped out of the room again with his parting words declaring she was physically fit for visitors. At this point, faces Elsa was simultaneously glad and hurt to see filtered into her room with concern and fear plastered across each of them. If she hadn't felt so vulnerable, trapped in this bed, she might have made a stronger attempt to smile reassuringly at them. But none of the guests blamed her.

"I don't think I've ever seen that doctor here before!" Olaf nervously broke the ice with, glancing down the corridor after the outstandingly fat man.

"How're you doing?" Kristoff asked, shooting his younger companion a questioning glance as he stepped forward to offer Elsa a bunch of flowers and a Santa shaped chocolate figure.

Elsa merely looked at the chocolate without her usual appetite for the candy, and then murmured she was alright. Literally anyone could see the evidence to the contrary. If not for the quite obvious bruises around her face then certainly for how hard she avoided looking at her teammates. She glanced up from the bedsheets momentarily, and hid her surprise when she saw Pabbie standing in the doorway.

The old man was exhausted in every sense of the world, yet the quiet satisfaction in his eyes demonstrated his gratefulness. He must have sat up the entire night, from the moment he had heard of Elsa's injuries, with barely a moment to himself. His shirt sleeves were still stained brownish-red, from a source the assembled group didn't have to wonder about, and there were obvious sweat marks across the rest of his clothing from the level of exertion he must have used to bring Elsa to safety. With Anna present, he didn't say a word that might betray the actual scene of life or death, but he did carefully step forward and squeeze Elsa's hand when she let him. Their disagreement was forgotten now. She was just glad that he had come through for her when she least expected it.

Not much was said for a long while after the men had filed in. When asked the whereabouts of Belle, Kristoff described how the Mayor had called her away at around five o'clock. With some apprehension, the blond described Weselton's new motives in making sure the Snow Queen would not escape public justice; a position which Belle had flown away to contest with a promise to return when she could. Elsa merely nodded at this, her eyes still downcast.

The next person of major relevance to Elsa was one she could have happily not seen, although she did appreciate the effort he had made to visit. Hans Westerguard was the most shocked and outraged of her assembled friends; spouting vows to hunt down the muggers himself.

"I mean, the nerve of those… Those… Hicks!" Hans grasped for insults, despite the geographic inaccuracy of the term he settled for. "There's that weirdo kidnapping people, muggers going after you on Christmas, when will it end? Oh my God…"

His audience listened passively to the sparse commentary he gave based on the fleeting details Anna had supplied him with. It took him a few minutes to exhaust himself of ill-aimed anger, although once he had he quietly stood against the door frame and surveyed the scene with a blank, downcast expression. As much as he could he followed Anna with his gaze, carefully avoiding Elsa's physical low point and presenting her with a measure of privacy mixed with his presence. Like the night before, he patted his pocket more than he let his hand rest. Once or twice he even clutched the contents with a fearful flush in his cheeks. Although no one apart from Elsa really noticed this odd behaviour.

Over time, a selection of hushed conversations arose. Anna gave herself rest from worrying for Elsa by asking Kristoff if he had opened his present yet. He had not. Olaf attempted to engage Hans in a conversation about plans for the rest of the twelve days of Christmas. The Westerguard boy fumbled for words, surprisingly uncertain for once but managing to concoct a viable idea to go back to the Southern Isles at some point. And Pabbie didn't say much. He made his own examination of Elsa's condition by studying her chart and having her test the mobility of her bandaged arm.

When dawn began to lighten the sky nearly two hours later, Hans switched the television on to the news (once he'd made sure that that was alight with everyone).

"_And following the attack, Miss Noble has been moved to Arendelle General Hospital. It is currently unknown what condition she is in, and it is just as unclear what this will mean for the Noble Corporation in the short term. When asked what he thought of the CEO's condition, Earl Goddard, Chairman of the Board, declined to comment," _The newscaster emotionlessly completed a hastily compiled segment on Elsa's injury. Hans looked extraordinarily bashful as he realised the mistake he may have made. "_Returning to our main story this Christmas morn, eight of the twelve hostages taken by the Snow Queen's self-proclaimed 'White Knight' have been rescued by the police after they managed to escape a warehouse on the outskirts of Arendelle. The building burnt down before a swat team could arrive._

"_Support for the Arendelle Vigilante known as the Snow Queen has dwindled in light of the White Knight's claims of loyalty. A surge in complaints of her activities has been registered by the police department and the hashtags 'Ice Cold Betrayal' and 'White Bitch' are trending on Twitter. The mayor has released a statme-…"_

The television was silenced by Pabbie, who had mercifully snatched the remote from Hans with a look of deepest anger. Hans only smiled sheepishly and apologetically, but the damage was done.

Elsa slumped back further into her hospital in true despair. She had to fight to blink back the tears which threatened to betray her identity even now, and she managed to yank enough slack in her IV lines to cover her black-and-blue face. The people were against her now; people she had raced around to protect for six months. Out there, in Arendelle, everyone was going to be baying for her blood, more than had already been spilt during the course of the night. All the good she had done since becoming the Snow Queen had been wiped in one fell swoop. They had turned on her, and the entire world wanted to extinguish her now. What had been the point, in the end?

Seeing Elsa hide behind her hand, Anna was immediately at her side. She was embarrassed to approach Elsa with the current crowd around them, and even when she tried to reach out to her sister again the blonde tried to push her away. Elsa actually shrank away from Anna's touch. And Anna tried to understand what her sister was going through, but the lifelong sting of rejection bit her soul once more. She shuffled over to Hans, and the younger Noble made an excuse to go in search of coffee. Hans loyally followed her out of the room.

Watching mournfully as two of her guests left the room, Elsa was well aware that this would be the beginning of a grand reset to the way things were. The Knight had demonstrated there was no point in fighting him and that the Snow Queen was incapable of protecting people he put in their crosshairs. Rapunzel; Marshall; the four people who had died before Elsa could reach them; and Anna, soon. Her only hope was that if she gave in to his demands he would let Anna live. So the Snow Queen had to disappear. And that meant Elsa disappearing as well.

Fortunately, she didn't have to put off announcing her intentions. She didn't really want to either. The only three people who needed to know were sat patiently around her, waiting for her to say anything at all. Because she had been more or less mute in front of them so far.

"Olaf, how hard is it to seal the Ice Palace?" Elsa asked with a dry throat, her eyes levelled on him but distant.

In all likelihood, Olaf had expected this question, but that didn't mean he was prepared for it. He looked to Kristoff and then to Pabbie, before swallowing back his nerves.

"At the moment: very," He said, his voice so gentle Elsa felt slightly patronised although she didn't care to express her feelings. "You took the door right off its hinges. Anyone can get in."

"What would we need to take out to convince people we were never there?" She asked again, scrambling for at least one thread of control, one viable plan.

"All the monitors," Olaf listed thoughtfully, filled with regret at the idea of abandoning all their work. "The suits, the gym. Pabbie's old lab. Virtually everything."

If Elsa could have sank back any further, she'd have been in the ground. And in all honesty she almost wanted to be six feet under. At least then she wouldn't have to worry anymore. But her heart monitor persisted in telling her she was still alive. She might as well get on with what was left to her.

"We could board up the entrance to the station," Pabbie suggested, having silently and unanimously been reaccepted into the team. No questions were asked as to how he knew where to find Elsa; partly because the expectation was he had been keeping an eye on them from the moment he left, as evidenced by him sending Rapunzel to Elsa's aid during the Riverside crisis, and largely as the team would not exist for much longer. "Sandbag the doorway. Freeze it?"

"No," Elsa strongly denied, with greater force than she thought she could muster despite still sounding pitifully weak to her own ears. "No more ice. I'm not going to be _her_ anymore."

"Then who are you going to be?" Pabbie asked, his eyes troubled and shoulders slumped.

Elsa sat completely still for a few moments, feeling the burn as her cracked ribs expanded with each breath and the tearing pain as her abdomen expanded to accommodate the air.

"I don't know." She semi-whispered, staring through the crack between the curtains to the grey dawn of Christmas day to avoid meeting anyone else's eyes.

Fortunately, an awkward silence was prevented by a most unexpected arrival. Of all the people in the world to knock on the door of Elsa's hospital room and immediately stroll in without being invited, none of them would have thought it would be Leiko Tanaka. The student wore the exact same expression she had when she first met all of them; the imperturbable semi-scowl, still chewing on a piece of gum. She could have walked into one of her lectures for all she seemed to care, but she had at least made the effort to bring a gift. Granted, it was a bag of skittles, but it was the thought that counted.

"Heard you were attacked last night," Tanaka greeted with a heavy yawn on the tail-end of her cynical drawl. "Bummer."

At this point Elsa had no idea that Tanaka had been instrumental in saving her life. It was with this in mind that the former intern ignored the blonde's distant glare out of the window, barely registering her presence, and secretly understood the trauma. Of course, this also gave her the merciful excuse of making only a fleeting visit. Tanaka didn't really want to hang around Arendelle longer than she had.

"Alright," She nodded to herself, making sure to at least acknowledge the other three men in the room. A discreet two-fingered salute was given to Pabbie and Kristoff before she departed with an uncaring: "See you around."

True to her current form, Elsa remained entirely indifferent to Leiko Tanaka's departure from her life and persisted in her dangerously calm introspection long after Kristoff had slipped out of the room with the intention of ensuring the young woman's silence. She was too busy watching the sky lighten into a steely, cloudy morning. Too busy thinking about all the things which needed to be hidden down in the Ice Palace, soon to be Ice Tomb. The suit, the bike, the mask. All things Elsa had grown very accustomed in the six months that had been her life for.

She hated to admit it, but Elsa was going to miss the old station. It was the one place she had been truly comfortable in. Although that belonged to the Snow Queen, and Elsa Noble was not the Snow Queen anymore.

* * *

Anna was silent as she trudged out of the hospital and crossed the empty road which faced the ER ambulance bay. She kicked some of the snow in her path once she was on the opposing sidewalk, no longer feeling the festive cheer which had persevered in her so long. There had been so much to hope for this Christmas. Her sister was back, she had more friends than this time last year, and she had a significant other to share it all with. How horribly twenty-four hours can change the lie of the land.

Today, her sister was in hospital and recovering from a traumatic experience in some back alley on the other side of the city. True, being mugged was not her fault. Except there was so much Anna did not understand about how those events played out. One moment she was going to watch a Christmas movie with the blonde, the next Elsa was dashing out of her apartment in response to the video ransom. Anna figured that seeing Belle in such a dangerous scenario had spooked the elder Noble to her very core. But why had Elsa left? Why did she go to see Pabbie? That didn't make sense. From what Anna had learnt over the last few months, Elsa and Pabbie weren't exactly keen to talk to each other. She should have been thankful that the old man was there to help Elsa once the deed had been done. The only thing stopping her was that the entire story increasingly rang false in her ears. There was some detail Anna was excluded from; something Elsa and Pabbie knew. Perhaps even Kristoff knew it. Or perhaps Anna was just being paranoid because Elsa had pushed her away, again.

That act hurt more than she could acknowledge. Just when she and Elsa were starting to be close again, this whole incident cropped up and drove another wedge between them. Another wedge which Elsa felt was necessary but Anna couldn't she a reason for. She bitterly entertained the notion that that was just what her sister did; she only knew how to freeze people out rather than let them in to help her. Out of everything, that would make the most sense. Although thinking this still made Anna feel guilty. There was obviously something bothering Elsa. It had been bothering her for months. Her work ethic was far from healthy, the amount of time she spent locked in her study or God knew where. At last, it seemed Elsa was going to let Anna know just what that problem was. She'd been promised that truth last night, in the departing note. Now, though, Anna got the feeling Elsa would 'forget' to let her in on the big secret. Which just really summed up their relationship, Anna thought.

As she pushed open the heavy door of a thankfully open Starbucks, Anna became aware that Hans had silently followed her from Elsa's hospital room to here. She hadn't heard his footsteps, spotted him in the corner of her eye or even felt his presence. Spooky. He didn't seem inclined to talk at all. Hans just smiled nervously at her and waited patiently. Whether he was purposefully silent, or was only this way out of awkwardness escaped her. Not that she really minded.

This was another way Christmas had gone wrong for her. Because she couldn't handle her fears being used to, admittedly, keep her safe there was now a divide between her and Hans. To her credit, she had tried to make her position on this disagreement as clear as possible. The ball was in his court, but so far Hans hadn't offered anything terribly productive to mending this fissure. And the longer he avoided anything healing, Anna wasn't sure she could believe in their relationship.

Right now, she feared being left alone again more than anything.

Hans stood still whilst she ordered her hot chocolate, staring at all the empty tables without particularly seeing anything. There wasn't much _to _see. Pretty much everyone in the city was at home, with their families, enjoying Christmas. It was only Anna, Hans and the barista in the entire place. But he was focussed intensely on the vacant tables, rolling whatever was in his pocket over and over all the while. He was so lost in his thoughts that when Anna passed him, he didn't react to her approach straight away. He had to shake himself out of whatever blind trance he had fallen into.

When he did look up at her, Anna was surprised by how intense, how uncertain he looked. And she became convinced something bad was going to happen.

"Are you okay?" Hans asked with a startlingly steady voice, given how the rest of his demeanour came across.

"Yeah," She answered, taking a pointed sip of her hot chocolate. "Shall we get out of here or…?"

"Hang on," He anxiously instructed, catching her arm as she was about to stroll off towards the door. "It's just… With everything that's happened recently… With us and… _Us_… And now Elsa, I'm just worried about you."

Carefully, on shaky legs, he stepped away from the wall and led her to the front window of the shop. The view out of it wasn't particularly impressive. There was the entrance to the hospital directly opposite them, and an empty grey road just outside. From the way Hans was fidgeting now, shaking his hand inside his pocket, Anna wondered whether he was preparing to jump through the window. He certainly appeared ready to flee from her.

"No, Hans, I'm alright," Anna said as calmly as she could, despite her growing nerves at this strange behaviour. "This is all stuff I'm pretty used to. I shouldn't be, but I am."

"Right! Right," Hans jumped on her words with surprising, almost insulting, enthusiasm. "And that's no way to live. Because from what you've told me, over the last few days, you've never really had proper… Security. You've always been… Insecure with relationships. And I get it now that what I said at the ball, to protect you, was misconstrued. I'm still so sorry about that, by the way. But I've been thinking about this for a while, and more so since we were held captive by that nutjob, and I know what I want to give you for Christmas.

"I want to give you security, in a relationship. I want you to know that no matter how difficult and dangerous and dark things can be, someone cares about your safety more than their own and is not going to run away from you. I want you to know that I'm willing to work through our rough patches. So, erm… Can I just say something crazy?"

Anna's eyes widened as Hans knelt down in front of her and fished out the item which had kept him searching through his pocket for the last forty-eight hours. It was a green and purple velvet box, which he tentatively held out to her. Then he opened it, and Anna froze at the sight of the tastefully-sized pure cut diamond fused to the golden band. She honestly hadn't expected this.

"Anna Noble," Hans said, trying to balance the confidence and fear in his voice. "Will you marry me?"

At first, Anna didn't know what to say. And moments later, she was still speechless. A whole flurry of thoughts ricocheted through her head. Hans was asking her to marry him. On Christmas day. In a Starbucks. While her sister was in a hospital bed across the road. And she was only nineteen, surely that wasn't legal?

But in her silence, Hans stuttered out a few explanations for why he had chosen _now_ to pop the question. He admitted that he'd originally planned to do this over Christmas dinner at his lodge, but with Elsa's injury he didn't know if that plan would still be acted on. The Starbucks was probably a nicer, warmer spot than the hospital or outside in the street, he reasoned. And he felt painfully ashamed that he had asked when there was the larger issue of Elsa's health. As for the age barrier, he told her that they wouldn't have to get married straight away. He wanted to marry her, but right now he was trying to show her how committed to her he was, and the wedding would only be when she wanted it to be. Not a second sooner or later. And before the question had ever shot through her head, Hans told her that Elsa had vaguely approved of the proposal.

And like that, the ball was put back in her court in the most shocking way possible. The only question which remained was whether Anna did actually want to marry Hans or not. It might have been seen as a foolish, stupid, reactionary thing to do, but Anna knew what she wanted. She didn't want to be alone.

"Can I say something even crazier?" Anna answered as Hans started to grow increasingly alarmed by her silence. "Yes."

* * *

"Thank you," Kristoff muttered gratefully as he meandered with Tanaka towards the exit of the hospital. "For coming to help. From what Pabbie told me it could've been much worse if you hadn't."

Tanaka shrugged in her standard, disregarding manner, although Kristoff could spot a hint of self-satisfaction breaking through her façade. Just a little twitch in the corner of her mouth. Enough to demonstrate that she could feel under all the layers of attitude. Rather than explicitly acknowledge the life-or-death situation she had reluctantly sped to, she blew a bright pink bubble with her gum, popped it, chewed it a bit more, and then answered.

"Thank my roommate. Her ion batteries really pack a punch if you can wire them correctly. That girl knows her chemical reactions," Tanaka dismissed her efforts entirely, even though Kristoff had heard how persistent she had been with her improved defibrillator. "And you did get me out of a jail-stint. Guess I understand your sympathies now."

"And I hope you won't tell anyone _her_ secret?" Having seen Elsa's current condition, Kristoff thought it was imperative that Tanaka remain silent.

"Well, I could tell the press. There's probably a huge cash reward which would cover my tuition fees." She joked drily, although her humour was lost on Kristoff for a few seconds. She had to force a laugh to make sure he understood that she was going to keep quiet about who the Snow Queen was.

The pair of them stopped just outside the entrance to the hospital. Snow had been piled high on the surrounding pavements to make way for incoming ambulances, so they had to hang to one side as Kristoff put his last few concerns about Leiko Tanaka to rest.

"What are you going to do now?" He enquired, kicking a small drift of white powder when had escaped the high frozen wall running along the sidewalk. "According to Pabbie, you took apart your project. Isn't that going to ruin your grade?"

"There's more to life than grades," Tanaka defended, displaying no fear at the prospect of having no academic evidence of her work. "Besides, that's engineering. If it falls apart, build another one. That was the fifth model of the Tomago suit. I'll start on the mark six once I get to Tadashi's."

"Well go, go Tomago," Kristoff encouraged, even though Tanaka couldn't be any more determined to begin work again. "See if you can break a hundred miles an hour this time."

Tanaka smirked at the irony, her gaze falling across the seasonally quiet road of a metropolitan centre. She caught sight of something across the road which interested her, although it wiped the smile clean away from her. Her frown deepened as she turned back to Kristoff, and for once her voice lowered in sadness. In consolation.

"Listen, that Anna dork," She began, surprising Kristoff with the abrupt change of subject. "You shouldn't chase her. You should probably keep away from her. If you're close with her sister, and her sister was… Y'know, _her_, you should let her find something else to care about instead of keeping her in orbit of this whole mess. Got it?"

"Got it." Kristoff answered, unsure of where this concern for him and Anna had come from.

"Alright. Good," Tanaka replied, sounding not too happy herself. "Thanks for calling on me, Bjorgman."

And with that, Leiko Tanaka marched away through the snow; crossing the road and disappearing around the corner of a Starbucks. Kristoff watched her go, confused by the very bizarre parting words she had given him. But then as she followed her path he realised why she had said it. Because as she vanished from sight, he spotted what she knew he was going to see. It was very clear, once he'd been directed in their direction, to see the two figures in the window of that coffee shop.

Hans Westerguard, kneeling. Anna Noble, shocked.

Kristoff went back inside the hospital as soon as the ring was put on her finger.

* * *

A year ago, the White Knight had made an appearance in Dunbroch. According to eyewitnesses, he had attacked the military base a mere six months after the initial bombing which had damaged the army presence in that city. Six dead and fourteen wounded. The soldiers had been armed with the finest issue firearms. The White Knight had been armed with a sword. Only the appearance of the Archer appeared to deter him from advancing, although it was highly unlikely the Knight had been frightened off by a woman with a bow and a few arrows.

Or that was what Cobra Bubbles thought as he reviewed the recently published file. He was yet to read General MacLoch's subsequent report of the following few days, but he expected the elusive White Knight to have achieved whatever strange plan he had envisioned. Otherwise the incident was barely worth the CIA's time. Even less so would it matter to Cobra Bubbles. However, he was interested in investigating the White Knight. Every few months a story of him cropped up. And each time he moved, unrest in the Far East surged. That was the principal area of Cobra Bubbles' interest.

There was, of course, the other reason Cobra Bubbles thought the appearances of the White Knight was worth his time. It was an inkling, a drastic inkling of a plan. But smaller ideas had managed a grand impact before now, and he wasn't going to rule it out.

It was for this reason that Cobra Bubbles detached the pages concerning the Archer and put it in her file. He was beginning to gather quite the collection of information on individuals of her calibre. Their files lined his filing cabinet; _Fitzherbert, Eugene; MacLoch, Merida; Noble, Elsa_. Judging by the activities in Corona, coupled with the events which had already unfurled in Arendelle, he would have a new file for Rapunzel Engel by the end of the month. A strange age they were now living in. He would be interested to see how each of them handled their current situations.

As if to answer his musings, there was a familiar rapping at the frosted glass of his office door. He beckoned them to enter as he fluidly replaced MacLoch's file and withdrew Noble's in preparation. Cobra Bubbles was not disappointed when the very face he had been expecting graced his office and sat down in an impractically unproportioned chair.

"Dr Jookiba, what have you learnt of Elsa Noble?" Cobra asked coolly, wholly unconcerned by the news report he had seen announcing the billionaire's injuries at the hands of imaginary muggers.

The unquestioned expert in extreme biological aberrations picked his glassed off the end of his nose and stared at Cobra Bubbles with the most excitement he had displayed since he had first started working in this division of the intelligence agency. This had been the first assignment where he had been allowed to leave the laboratory he was usually confined to, seeing as no one else could be trusted to understand what they saw and keep it secret. By this point, Jumba Jookiba was known to be loyal to Cobra Bubbles' taskforce.

"Human woman will be fine," Jookiba proudly declared, that good-natured if slightly unempathetic laugh following the report. "Is a little boo-boo. And few other boo-boos. Nothing that can't be healed with the drugs at her disposal. Recovery time? About three months, if we are being safe."

Cobra took note of the estimation, jotting it down against what was already known about the confrontation between the Snow Queen and the White Knight.

"Would her unique biology prove any hindrance to the healing process?" He pressed, considering her suitability for the tasks he had in mind.

"None at all! Dermal injuries are only sign of swelling, they are very short term. She is natural ice-pack!" Dr Jookiba seemed to find the entire examination amusing, although Cobra Bubbles could not have cared less for his professionality in this private debriefing. "Her biological processes are fully adapted to virulent DNA. She could recover faster than normal human!"

"Very good," Cobra said without any inflection to indicate his feelings on this information. He closed the file before Dr Jookiba could peak at the other facts he had accrued concerning Elsa Noble. "This is all I need for now. I can wait for the rest of your findings in your report. You may return to work."

Once Jumba had squeezed back through the standard sized doorframe, Cobra Bubbles examined his notes on the activities of the Snow Queen. Despite the comments made by the White Knight and Mayor Weselton, among other well-known public speakers, the evidence indicated that Elsa Noble was acting in the public interest. She may not have been perfect, practically incompetent in some cases and timid in others, but he concluded that as things stood she would be a worthy ally. All that remained was for him to keep an eye on what she did next in regards to the White Knight. That, after all, was not Cobra Bubbles' business to interfere with.

* * *

The old elevator rattled as it descended into the hidden bunker, juddering and wobbling on its runners whilst drops of melted snow filtered through the ancient walls and dropped into a pool at the bottom. The entire shaft smelt of warped plaster and damp brick, the scent of decay; the air growing colder with every metre descended. All the illumination came from a red emergency light, casting devilish shadows against the rusting grates. This was all testament to how long the place had been neglected, and Pabbie couldn't help but vindictively suppose it paralleled the nature of the occupant.

With a muted _crash_, the elevator came to a sharp stop at the base of the shaft. Beyond the criss-crossed gate stood the thick, lead-lined door which Pabbie had seen twice before but had never been permitted to cross. This may have been offered as a Christmas gift, as he dragged the cage-like gate open and carefully pushed the door to the bunker. It creaked open with the ease of a homely entrance, revealed, bit by bit, the mysterious interior which had been denied to all other accomplices for so long.

Stepping inside, Pabbie took a moment to digest the interior of the bunker. It was everything he had expected it to be and more. Like a crypt, the ceiling was vaulted, supporting the weight of the earth above it and lending a sacrilegious air as the room became more righteous with the grandeur. An alcove in the nearest wall housed a second doorway, through which Pabbie could spy an entire arsenal on display; ranging from varied blades to bows and arrows to automatic rifles. In the opposing alcove stood a carved totem of a Chinese dragon; the jewelled eyes glinting under the flickering overhead light as it appraised his every movement. On the wall beside this was a wooden panel, upon which an indecipherable oriental character had been engraved. Directly in front of Pabbie was one of the possessions he most despised. The GDU, or what remained of it, was open and available to be tampered with at any moment. Pieces of it were sprawled across the nearest bench, weighing down painstakingly illustrated reproductions of each component. And beyond this display of his gains was the white suit itself; empty, flung across a table. The back of the helmet could be seen at the extreme far end, watching the exposed villain just as Pabbie was.

He was sat at the opposite end of the room, silhouetted by his bright array of displays. Squinting closely, Pabbie could make out the timeline of footage the Knight was watching; chronicling Elsa from her first appearance in Arendelle airport through to her mercy killing of Marshall Hansen. His slump was disrespectful, no matter how contemplative of this visual series he seemed to be. But as Pabbie stepped further into the bunker, the Knight's ears perked up at the realisation his guest had arrived.

"Merry Christmas, Mr Pabbie." He politely welcomed, although he refused to turn around.

"Shut up," Pabbie automatically answered, not caring about the repercussion of rebellion any longer. "You stabbed her and pushed her out of a window."

"And you were there to make sure she didn't die," The Knight quickly defended himself as if his extreme action was cancelled out by the weeks of recovery it would take Elsa. "I would have thought you'd be more grateful for the advanced notification. Imagine if I _hadn't_ told you to be there."

"If Leiko Tanaka had not arrived when she did, Elsa would most certainly have died!" Pabbie shouted, exasperated by the childish shifting of responsibility the Knight took. Yet the Knight was unmoved by this outburst. He just didn't care that much.

"That was lucky, with Leiko," The Knight admitted thoughtfully after a pause. "I should really keep an eye on her. There are plans afoot at the Institute of Technology."

In fury, Pabbie kicked the metal exterior of the GDU. The Knight made no reaction. Evidently he was finished with it. Otherwise Pabbie would have expected to be in the hospital by now.

"There is no point in dwelling on what could have been, Mr Pabbie," The Knight advised as the screens turned off one by one. "Focus instead on what _is_. Elsa Noble will survive. The Snow Queen is being hunted for now. Did you store my doppelganger in the morgue?"

"Yes," Pabbie hissed, knowing he would be under the thumb of this monster no matter how much he protested. The Knight was too close to the Nobles for comfort. "But there is only so long questions about his disappearance will go unasked. His family will speak out by the New Year."

"No matter, Captain Latimer's sacrifice is greatly appreciated," The Knight dismissed. "Send his wife a Christmas ham. And get to work on your area of the project. Operation Big Freeze should not be delayed any more than it has been."

"Anything else?"

The Knight swivelled around in his chair to face Pabbie. Those cold eyes bore into the old man, pragmatically appraising the situation and plotting to turn it to his advantage even further. A smile gradually spread across his lips, although Pabbie found himself vehemently staring at the small scar nestled among his sideburns.

"Join Elsa's team again, try to coax her back into the public eye. But only when I give the word." He instructed, taking delight in his imaginary future victory despite all he had already taken from her.

Anger flushed through Pabbie, furious at the thought of more torture for the eldest Noble. Any other madman would have been satisfied by this point. Anyone other than him.

"And if I refuse?" Pabbie asked, fearing the answer.

The Knight grinned wider. "Have you not heard? Anna Noble is engaged to be married."

Without betraying his glowering rage at the ongoing manipulations, Pabbie turned and stormed out of the bunker before the Knight could taunt him any further. To his surprise, the Knight did not try to stop him, although they both knew Pabbie would follow the instructions now that he knew just how dire the circumstances were. It was sickening to him that this plan had ever started. And he didn't know exactly who to blame.

Left alone now, the Knight considered all the future steps he needed to make his dream a reality. It was materialising all the more with every passing day. He had the plans, he had the resources, he had the expertise, and he had both Noble sisters exactly where he wanted them. Never had a Christmas been more rewarding. He estimated that by the same time next year, he would have succeeded. Nothing could stand in his way now.

Rising from his chair, he examined the remains of his suit. True to function, the material had not given way under the barrage of icicles nor had it been compromised by the flames. There were black marks of smoke, yes, but the costume was impervious in every other respect. The only crack in his identity was the hole which Elsa had smashed into his helmet.

He picked it up, bringing the scratched visor close to his face. There it was, the pierced glass and plastic which revealed his mouth. Nothing too worrying. And easily replaced. Barely anything to worry about.

Hans Westerguard smiled at his reflection.

* * *

**Please Review**

**Who didn't see this coming?**


End file.
